Game of the week: 5 things to know about Alabama-Georgia

Each Friday, we spotlight the best game that weekend. It’s “Championship Week” and the marquee game is No. 1 Georgia (12-0) against No. 3 Alabama (11-1) in the SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The game has obvious College Football Playoff implications. Georgia seems a good bet to make the four-team field regardless; the question is whether Alabama has a shot if it loses. In that scenario, a narrow loss conceivably could lead to the Tide’s inclusion.

Georgia has won with defense all season. The Bulldogs haven’t allowed more than 17 points, and nine times they’ve surrendered 10 or fewer. Just once (the opener against Clemson) has Georgia played a one-score game; every other game was decided by at 17 points. Alabama, meanwhile, is coming off a four-overtime victory over 6-6 Auburn, a team Georgia beat by 24. The Tide also have had one-score games with Florida, LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M (a loss).

Alabama has won 33 in a row against SEC East opponents, with seven of those victories coming in league championship games. In addition, Tide coach Nick Saban is 24-1 against his former assistants, with the lone loss coming this season to Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M. Saban is 3-0 against Georgia coach Kirby Smith.

The contest kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on CBS; Brad Nessler will handle the play-by-play and Gary Danielson is the analyst.

Here are five things to know about the Alabama-Georgia game, plus the predicted final score from the On3 national staff.

1. Georgia’s defense

The Bulldogs are allowing just 6.9 points per game, and as mentioned earlier, no opponent has scored more than 17. Georgia is surrendering a nation’s-low 229.7 yards per game and only 3.67 yards per play, nearly a half-yard better than anyone else. The Bulldogs have allowed more than 300 yards just four times, with a season-high 387 to Tennessee in a 24-point win. That’s a bit deceiving, though, as the Vols had 136 yards in the fourth quarter, with all of that coming through the air after Georgia took a 34-10 lead. The run defense has been especially good. The Bulldogs allow 2.49 yards per carry, and have allowed two rushing TDs and more than 100 yards just three times. Florida was the only team to average more than 3.6 yards per carry and most of the Gators’ success came in garbage time. The Bulldogs have trailed only four times this season, for a total of 20:17 and all in the first half of games (they trailed Auburn, Missouri and Tennessee twice).

2. Alabama’s Jameson Williams

The one question about Georgia’s defense is how it will fare against an elite receiver, and that will be answered Saturday. Georgia shut down Arkansas’ Treylon Burks (three catches, 10 yards), but Williams is at another level. And Bryce Young will be the best quarterback the Bulldogs have seen. Williams has been a revelation since transferring from Ohio State, where he was just “a guy” in an incredibly deep receiver room. He has blossomed into an almost-certain top-20 NFL draft pick with the Tide, thanks to incredible big-play ability. He has 61 receptions for 1,261 yards (a whopping 20.67 yards catch) and 13 TDs; the average length of the TD receptions is a staggering 45.5 yards, with four of at least 79, six of at least 50 and nine of at least 30. Georgia has allowed just 10 receptions of at least 30 yards and three of at least 50, with the longest a 61-yarder by South Carolina’s Josh Vann on the Gamecocks’ third play of game in a 40-13 loss. Williams and John Metchie are one of the best receiving duos in the nation, but if Georgia can limit (or not allow) any big plays, the Tide is in trouble.

3. The quarterbacks

Young is a Heisman candidate; Georgia’s Stetson Bennett is … well, he’s unbeaten this season, so there’s that. Bennett is not a difference-maker, but he doesn’t have to be on this team. While Alabama needs Young to produce, Georgia basically has just needed Bennett not to screw up. That said, he has thrown 21 TD passes and is averaging a robust 10.8 yards per attempt (second in the nation, behind Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall’s 12.1). Bennett has thrown more than 20 passes in a game just twice (29 vs. Tennessee and 21 vs Auburn). Worth noting is that he struggled a bit against Florida (two picks, 52.6 completion percentage) — and Georgia won by 27. Young, meanwhile, has 442 pass attempts, more than twice as many as Bennett’s 183. Young’s yards per attempt is rather robust as well (9.3). He has 40 TD passes (tied for No. 1 nationally among Power 5 quarterbacks with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett) and four picks, and is averaging 325.1 yards per game. He has eight 300-yard games; Georgia has surrendered 300 passing yards once and more than 200 just three times.

4. The edge rushers

Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. leads the nation with 14.5 sacks; Georgia has allowed just eight all season. Anderson wreaks havoc on a weekly basis and is a Heisman contender because of that. The Bulldogs’ offensive line has been good all season, though not dominant; can it keep Anderson out of the backfield? He also leads the nation with 29.5 tackles for loss. The Bulldogs’ best tackle is Jamaree Salyer, but he has missed the past four games with a foot injury; while he has practiced this week, it’s not a given he starts or even plays. Redshirt freshman Broderick Jones has started in Salyer’s place, and if Jones is out there Saturday, it’s safe to assume that Tide defensive coordinator Pete Golding will provide him a lot of opportunities to go up against Anderson. Speaking of offensive tackles who could be on the spot, don’t forget whoever is at right tackle for Alabama (either Chris Owens or Damieon George Jr.). The right side of the Tide’s line has been problematic all season, and expect the Bulldogs to make either Owens or George prove they can handle Georgia’s revolving group of edge guys. The Bulldogs have 41 sacks (fourth nationally and two behind the Tide), and 17 (17!) players have at least a half-sack. The Bulldogs’ top edge rusher, Adam Anderson, has been suspended for the past four games after being accused of rape, but there is no shortage of pass rushers who will roll in and out of the game. And it’s hard to double-team on the outside because DTs Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Devonte Wyatt are difference-makers on the inside.

5. Recent history

The teams don’t play all that often and Alabama’s current six-game winning streak over the Bulldogs dates to 2008. It does include two wins in the SEC title game (2012 and ’18) and the CFP national championship game following the 2017 season, which featured the famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) Tua Tagovailoa-to-DeVonta Smith TD pass in overtime. The most recent meeting was a 17-point Tide win in Tuscaloosa last season. The Tide is 7-1 in SEC title games under Saban; the loss was to Florida in 2008 in Saban’s first appearance with Alabama.

On3 staff predictions

Mike Huguenin: Georgia 20-16
Ivan Maisel: Georgia 31-20
Charles Power: Georgia 28-20
Matt Zenitz: Georgia 24-16