The stars will be out in full force in two Saturdays. The Georgia Bulldogs will be hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide Between the Hedges for a primetime kick at Sanford Stadium. This will be the signature game of Week 5. With the Dawgs and Tide on byes this week, these teams will only see their top-15 rankings improve should teams above them and around them lose. This is the game everyone wants.
While ESPN is giving Georgia a 55-percent chance to hold serve at home, nothing has been easy vs. the Crimson Tide for the better part of two decades now. Since Nick Saban took over the program, Georgia is only 2-9 vs. the flagship institution of the state they share a border with. The good news is that even though Alabama has owned Georgia of late, nobody has beaten Georgia in Athens in years.
Let's now unpack the pros and cons of Georgia being able to host Alabama for a primetime kickoff.
Why Georgia getting Alabama at night is a great thing for the Bulldogs
The two biggest upsides to Georgia getting the 7:30 p.m. ET home kickoff vs. Alabama in two weeks have everything to do with crowd noise and its home-field advantage. Several more hours will allow Dawg Nation to get nice and lubricated before toe meets leather Between the Hedges. Sanford Stadium can get incredibly loud, but for whatever reason, the national media downplays this venue.
The other thing that works in Georgia's favor here is Dawg Nation will show up and pack Sanford Stadium to the brim. Yes, they may be a corner of crimson in one part of the stadium, but the hostile environment works to Georgia's favor here big time. Keep in mind that Georgia has not lost a home game since falling in overtime to another SEC rival it shares a border with in South Carolina in 2019.
Now let's turn our attention to what could be the worst thing to ever happen to the Georgia program...
Why Georgia getting Alabama at night is the Bulldogs' worst nightmare
The two things that are working against Georgia here is additional time to think about who they are playing and how many tough losses they have had to Alabama before, especially at night. Last year's barn-burner was played in primetime around this same time of the season. The infamous Alabama blackout game of 2008 started Saban's dynasty. And let's not think about the 2012 SEC title bout...
This game being played at night further illustrates that everyone in the college football world actually cares who wins between these two SEC foes. While Alabama has fallen back to earth under Kalen DeBoer, he is 1-0 against Kirby Smart. Although Smart used to work for Saban, he has only beaten his former employer once. That also came in primetime at night in the 2021 national title in Indianapolis.
Now that we have discussed the emotional consequences associated with a night game, who wins?
How a primetime kickoff will likely impact Alabama at Georgia in Week 5
Upon first glance, this feels like a good time to do the good, old-fashioned emo hedge of taking Alabama getting points to win and cover, only to be elated when Georgia wins and effectively knocks the Crimson Tide out of the playoff picture. That being said, who do we trust more in primetime between the head coaches and quarterbacks? This might be the deciding factor as to who wins this.
Right now, Smart and Gunner Stockton are giving off slightly better vibes than DeBoer and Ty Simpson are. Admittedly, it is not by much. If this game were in Tuscaloosa again, then the Crimson Tide would get the slight advantage. Unless Smart's players and coaching staff friends let him down, the Dawgs should be able to prevail at home to keep their impressive winning streak alive in Week 5.
The best part is there is still plenty of time to go back and forth over everything to do with this game.