Alabama may not be ranked as high as they typically are in the AP Poll, but that doesn’t change how difficult Georgia’s game against them will be this weekend. In fact, Vegas currently only favors UGA by 3.5 points, so oddsmakers believe this game will come down to the wire.
Knowing how close this game could be, Georgia needs to exploit every advantage they can get. And one key advantage that is on their side is their home crowd, which Kirby Smart discussed in great detail during his press conference on Monday.
"Being at home is an advantage,” Smart shared via 247Sports.com. “Just as I say going on the road is hard. Going on the road last year to play the games we played, hard. Going to Tennessee a couple weeks ago was hard. Playing at home, it helps. The atmosphere helps, the crowd noise helps, being familiar with your surroundings and all that stuff helps.”
Kirby Smart emphasizes how important playing at home will be for Georgia vs. Alabama
After a decade of being a head coach in the SEC, Smart knows how difficult it is to play on the road. But that is especially the case when visiting teams come to Sanford Stadium because the atmosphere is always electric. In fact, the atmosphere at Georgia home games is one of the reasons why the Bulldogs have won 33 straight games between the hedges.
Georgia playing at home, even after this long win streak, still doesn’t guarantee a win. That is something Smart also discussed because he knows his team will still have to play extremely well on Saturday.
”But at the end of the day, you've got to go play football, and it comes down to matchups, it comes down to who blocks and tackles the best, who executes and does things in the key moments of the game,” Smart continued. “So certainly glad it's at home, but we've still got to play well."
Georgia and Alabama will kick off at 7:30 pm EST on Saturday night, and while Georgia’s fans will have an impact on the game, all signs point to this being yet another classic between two of the best programs in the country.