Kirby Smart is built to win the rematch. He has done so three times of note in his illustrious coaching career. Georgia got the best of Auburn the second time around in 2017 to win the SEC. His most important victory to date came vs. Alabama in the rematch in 2021 national title bout. He also swept Texas last year to claim the SEC as Georgia's. The same opportunity is on the line on Saturday night.
Georgia enters the SEC Championship as the slight 2.5-point favorite over Alabama in neutral-site Atlanta. This has been a house of horrors for Smart going up against the Crimson Tide. However, he has something working for him this time around that was not the case vs. Alabama Between the Hedges way back in September. He has a defensive front-seven that is starting to generate pressure.
Even though Georgia has only sacked the quarterback 17 times this season, the emergence of Christen Miller in the trenches and Gabe Harris Jr. out on the edge of late have been a huge plus. Miller may only have 1.5 sacks on the season, but he generated eight pressure vs. Texas and Georgia Tech. Harris only has one sack, but he was able to effect the passer seven times in those two games.
Factor in how one-dimensional the Alabama offense can be at times, it could be a problem for them.
How Georgia can win the SEC Championship Game to earn the No. 2 seed
Look. For Georgia to win this game, the Bulldogs need to be more mentally locked in than they have at any point in the season. They have grown up a lot since the late September home loss to Alabama, but this is the same program that routinely steals Kirby Smart's lunch money and stuffs him into a locker. Kalen DeBoer's black hoodie cannot look like it belongs to one Darth Sidious this time around.
Even though Georgia shut Alabama out in the second half in their previous meeting, the offense was not as cohesive as it needed to be to pull off the comeback. Frankly, had Talyn Taylor come up with that grab, or if Cash Jones had a clue where the first-down marker was, Georgia may have very well one this game. But they did not, so it will have to be a redemption act for this team to win the SEC.
Besides executing at a high level with a balanced offensive attack, one that uses the run to open up the pass, the best thing Georgia can do defensively is to bring the pressure and force Ty Simpson to beat them again. He may be certainly capable of that, but he has had to play near-perfect football for Alabama to win games in its SEC gauntlet of a schedule. Alabama has struggled to run the football...
This is only made worse with Jam Miller suffering a lower leg injury in the Iron Bowl last week. He has been a menace vs. Georgia the last two years. While he is far from a perfect player, he usually saves his best vs. Georgia. It remains to be seen if he will get another crack at the Bulldogs. Simply put, if Georgia can generate pressure on Simpson, the Dawgs will have their day over the Tide in Atlanta!
Overall, the pressure is going to have to come from all over the field. Georgia's defense has played expontentially better since the Ole Miss barn-burner back in October. Georgia has held its last five opponents to 21 points or less since that game with Mississippi State leading the way in their 20-point home loss to the Dawgs. Frankly, this is a different defense than the one Alabama has faced.
For now, the only thing that matters is for Georgia to finish the drill and finally beat Alabama in Atlanta.