Joel Klatt

Senior College Football Analyst

One of the biggest games of the college football season will take place on Saturday.

No. 2 Georgia travels to Tuscaloosa to face No. 4 Alabama in a rematch of last season’s SEC title game. So far, every team has done what they had to do. Both teams are 3-0, with Georgia securing a win against Kentucky and Alabama comfortably winning against Wisconsin in Week 3.

With both teams holding serve up to this point, the significance of this match remains the same since I named it in June as one of the 10 games that will define the 2024 season. I’ll have a full on-field preview of this matchup on Thursday’s episode of “The Joel Klatt Show.” But with Saturday’s result likely to have huge implications, I want to take a 30,000-foot look to assess where these programs stand in comparison to the rest of the sport and where each of them stands in their respective histories.

Obviously the two head coaches are really good in Saturday’s game. I think Kirby Smart is the best coach in college football right now. His record speaks for itself – two national championships with both wins in the last three years.

But where is the pressure in this game, at least as far as the coaches are concerned? You might be thinking, “Well, the obvious answer to that question is the guy who replaces Nick Saban.” If you’re thinking that, slow down for a moment. I actually think Smart will be under more pressure in Saturday’s game.

Smart has done it all and dominated everyone in the sport. Well, he accomplished all but one thing: overtaking his mentor at Alabama, Nick Saban. He was 1-5 against Alabama in the six games he faced Saban after becoming Georgia’s head coach in 2016. Even during Georgia’s dominant performance over the past three seasons, Alabama has been its kryptonite. Georgia’s only two losses since 2021 came against Alabama, 2-1 Crimson Tide in the last three years.

So the narrative around Smart, at least to me, is that he’s the best coach in college football, but he couldn’t beat Saban. If Smart actually loses this game on Saturday, it would become a huge problem for him. The only problem he had would evolve from a Nick Saban problem to an Alabama problem, which he still has.

So far, the problem Smart has had with Alabama can at least be explained away by saying, “He only loses games to Saban, the greatest coach in the history of the game.” But if Smart loses to Kalen DeBoer on Saturday, it will the Alabama problem even bigger. Alabama has a great recruiting class, and a win like this early in DeBoer’s tenure would solidify what he’s building in Tuscaloosa. That wouldn’t be good for Smart.

Kirby Smart coached under Nick Saban at Alabama for nine seasons. As head coach at Georgia, he went 1-5 against Saban.

On the other hand, the people who believe DeBoer will put more pressure on him in Saturday’s game have good reasons to think so. The success Saban had against Georgia puts pressure on DeBoer to do the same. If Alabama can’t win on Saturday, the Tide could take a step backwards from where they have been over the past 15 years. I don’t think Alabama fans would be too happy with a clear regression.

DeBoer hasn’t been tested yet in his young tenure at Alabama. We thought Wisconsin could be the first big test for him, but the Badgers weren’t able to threaten a team like the Crimson Tide with all of their firepower. Maybe this game was more of a bread basket before the opening game against Georgia.

DeBoer has to win this game. If he doesn’t, it would not only be a clear step backwards from what’s been going on at Alabama, but it could also impact his upcoming recruiting class. Alabama’s 2025 recruiting class is the second-best in the country, according to 247 Sports. That doesn’t mean the class will be ranked really high come signing day, and I think this game could sway some recruits in certain directions.

I do want to give DeBoer one caveat: If he loses in a really close game and Alabama plays really well, I think everyone is going to say, “Okay, you know what? We’re fine.” When Alabama loses by several points in a big night game, some might think it’s a clear step backwards from the Saban days. DeBoer wants to avoid that at all costs. He doesn’t want to treat this as a narrative around him or a recruiting story.

Georgia vs. Alabama: Who has more pressure on Saturday?

What actually happens if Alabama wins? This would be a tremendous opportunity for DeBoer. It may allow him to raise the flag and say, “The greatest coach in the history of the sport will not be removed.” That’s saying something. That’s why it would be a seismic victory for DeBoer and Alabama.

Back to the recruiting element: Alabama actually has the highest per-player rating in the class of 2025 at 247 Sports. The Tide have more five-star commitments than anyone else. So DeBoer has already recruited exceptionally well in his short time at Alabama. A win over Georgia would send this class, which only has 20 commits, into hyperdrive. Maybe you can get another five star or two at the end of this recruiting class.

If the coaches were removed and the focus was on the programs, the consequences of a loss for any team this season would be quite severe. One of the things I bristle at are those who say that the 12-team playoffs create a meaningless regular season and that it doesn’t matter what happens in games like Saturday’s matchup.

I absolutely disagree with this opinion. The loser of Saturday’s game will be in a position where returning to the SEC Championship Game is almost impossible. It’s not completely impossible, but the loser would probably have to control the table. Even then, it wouldn’t be guaranteed that the team would make it to the conference title game.

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If you don’t make it to the SEC Championship Game, that means you definitely won’t get a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. This is a big deal. If you look at the schedules each team has after Saturday’s game, it’s far from a guarantee that the loser will also top the table. If this team suffers a second loss, not only will they not receive a bye, but they will likely play on the road in the first round of the CFP.

Let’s take a quick look at each team’s schedule. Georgia still has games at No. 1 Texas and No. 6 Ole Miss before hosting No. 5 Tennessee in November. Alabama hosts games at No. 5 Tennessee, No. 14 LSU and No. 21 Oklahoma. There’s also a home game against No. 11 Missouri and closes out the year against Auburn, which has always been a tough opponent even in Saban’s best seasons.

Suffice it to say, the path to the SEC title is narrow for the loser of this game. That alone would make this game monumental. Considering the pressure, expectations and narratives surrounding the two coaches and programs, this is a monumental matchup.

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and host of the podcast.The Joel Klatt Show.“Follow him on X/Twitter at @joelklatt And Subscribe to The Joel Klatt Show on YouTube.

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