The Red & Black | SEC Championship Preview, December 1, 2023

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW EXTRA EDITION

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

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GEORGIA VS. ALABAMA

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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart speaks to the press in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. P H O T O / L A N D E N T O D D

Alabama head coach Nick Saban speaks to the press in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. P H O T O / L A N D E N T O D D

Smart and Saban meet again Former colleagues face off in SEC championship Owen Warden Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Alabama head coach Nick Saban have faced off five times in their careers.

They have been foes in some of college football’s biggest games. Only one of those meetings was a regular season matchup, while the rest have been either national championships or SEC title games. The two have coached across from each other plenty since 2017, but Saban and Smart also once shared a sideline. Their relationship goes back nearly two decades.

The two started working together when Saban hired Smart, then a graduate assistant for Florida State, to serve as his new defensive backs coach at LSU. Smart had been the defensive backs coach and eventually defensive coordinator at Valdosta State. However, Saban gave him his first major opportunity on a Power 5 coaching staff.

“We have a great relationship,” Smart said in 2019. “We’re not texting and calling each other buddy, buddy, but I’m not doing that with anybody. So that’s not to be

of mention. I got a lot of respect for him. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him, and there’s no problem with our relationship.”

After Saban went to the NFL to coach the Miami Dolphins, Smart spent a year at Georgia as the running backs coach, then joined Saban in the NFL as his safeties coach. Smart then followed Saban to Alabama and worked with the legendary head coach for another nine seasons as the defensive coordinator before he rejoined Georgia as its head coach.

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Former colleagues Kirby Smart and Nick Saban have faced off five times as head coaches.

Smart has only won a single game out of those five matchups.

For Saban’s part, he said he has a lot of appreciation for his former employee, even after losing a national championship to Smart in 2021.

“I love Kirby,” Saban said after the 2021 national championship game. “I think Kirby has a lot of respect for us. He did a great job for us for a long time. If we had to lose a national championship, I’d rather lose one to one of the former assistants who certainly did a great job for us and has done a great job for his program and his team …

I’m really proud of him and I’m proud of the way he’s been able to coach his team and the consistency that they’ve played with all year.”

Since that game, which was the last time the two teams faced off, Smart won another national championship. That was his second straight national title, something only a few head coaches — including Saban — have accomplished.

Smart has passed Saban for the SEC record for the most wins through 100 games, establishing himself one of the best coaches in the history of college football. Saban, who’s won seven national championships

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— six with Alabama and one with LSU — has cemented himself as perhaps the best collegiate coach of all time.

The two juggernauts will face off on Saturday in Atlanta, and while Smart has posed a challenge to Saban in recent years, he holds his former boss in high regard.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.

K I R B Y S M A R T | GEORGIA HEAD COACH

“Nick’s been tremendous for our sport,” Smart said earlier this year. “Nobody has moved the college football game more than he has. He has done a tremendous job of changing the game. I mean, the SEC is the premier place, primarily because he started bringing national championships there when he came to LSU. So, he’s done a lot for this game.”

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University of Alabama fans cheer against Georgia during the national championship game against Georgia on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. P H O T O / K A T H R Y N S K E E A N

Tide rolls in

Georgia to face Alabama in SEC championship for 4th time Owen Warden It hasn’t gone well for Georgia against Alabama in the past.

Georgia has faced the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship three times and lost every time. Now, the Bulldogs will enter the game as the No. 1 team in the country and have a chance to clinch a playoff berth and back-to-back SEC championship titles.

Alabama, meanwhile, has a prime opportunity to push itself into the playoffs. The Crimson Tide sits at No. 8 and with a win, would likely push themselves into the playoffs like they did in 2021. Georgia was also ranked No. 1 in the 2021 SEC Championship game — drawing further parallels to that matchup.

Georgia has been compared to Alabama in the past, especially after achieving the feat of back-to-back national championships. Alabama head coach Nick Saban was the last to accomplish that in 2011 and 2012, with Kirby Smart by his side as the defensive coordinator. However, Smart has disagreed with the comparisons.

“I wouldn’t compare,” Smart said at SEC Media Days in July 2023. “I think the two circumstances are very different, two different programs led by different people. A lot of respect for Nick and the things I learned from him. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with him as an assistant coach, but what we’re doing right now is based on the players and the people in the organization we have, not anything relevant to what we had when I was there.”

In the 2021 SEC Championship and the 2021 national

championship, Alabama had Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young. Current quarterback Jalen Milroe doesn’t have the same hardware, though he’s played well this season. Milroe has started every game, except for one after he was benched following a loss to Texas.

Since then, Milroe’s hit his stride and has looked like one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. He’s thrown for 2,526 yards, which is the eighth-best in the SEC, and he’s rushed for 439 yards, which is the fourth-best out of all quarterbacks in the SEC. His 12 rushing touchdowns are not only the most out of all SEC quarterbacks, but fourth of all players in the SEC. One of Georgia’s biggest weaknesses this season has been the quarterback run, which Milroe does better than most in the conference. While the Bulldogs will pay attention to Milroe’s legs, they still have to worry about weapons like former Bulldog Jermaine Burton and Georgia native Isaiah Bond.

Burton leads all Alabama receivers with 749 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, while Bond has 542 yards and four touchdowns himself. Senior running back Jase McClellan leads the Tide in rushing with 803 yards and six touchdowns, while fellow senior Roydell Williams has 497 yards and three touchdowns himself.

On defense, freshman Caleb Downs leads the team with 95 tackles — 34 more tackles than anyone else on the team — and has had two interceptions as well as a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Cornerback Terrion Arnold is fifth in tackles with 55,

first in pass deflections with 10, first in interceptions with five in addition to a forced fumble. Arnold plays opposite of projected first-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry, and the two have built one of the best cornerback duos in college football.

Alabama’s pass rushers have been impressive this season as well, as Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell lead the team with nine and eight sacks, respectively. Turner is regarded as another one of Alabama’s several potential first-round picks, as the junior pass rusher ranked as Mel Kiper’s eighth-best overall prospect in his Top 25 rankings released in October.

While not making headlines, former Georgia linebacker and Homerville, Georgia native Trezman Marshall helps lead Alabama’s inside linebacker group. He is seventh in tackles with 50 and has two and a half sacks on the season.

The Bulldogs are playing at a high level, as quarterback Carson Beck continues to impress with his performance and with the defense currently ranking ninth in college football. Georgia is seeded firmly at No. 1, but its biggest test all season awaits in Alabama.

Georgia’s back-to-back national championships have put the Bulldogs at the top of college football, the spot Alabama held for a long time. Saban, despite his appreciation for his former assistant Smart, wants to reclaim the throne atop the college football landscape.

“That’s been the case for a while now,” Saban said. “Last couple years, they’ve — somebody’s been successful. We need to try to take it back.”

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Georgia lost by four against Alabama in the 2012 SEC title game. That matchup featured a number of lead changes, big plays and a 122yard, two-touchdown performance from freshman running back Todd Gurley.

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Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper (9) jukes Georgia cornerback Damian Swann (5) during the first quarter of the SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. P H O T O / F I L E

When time ran out for the Bulldogs A look back at the 2012 SEC Championship game against Alabama Bo Underwood No one in recent college football history has done more psychological damage to Georgia fans than head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Back-to-back national championship wins have somewhat softened the pain that the Crimson Tide inflicted upon the Bulldogs year after year, but not completely. Georgia is 2-8 all-time against Alabama with Saban — including 0-3 in the SEC championship — and for some, the 2012 SEC title game stings the most out of those three losses.

But it’s healthy to talk through past trauma.

To set the scene, the 2012 SEC Championship game wound up serving as the de facto national championship. Alabama and Georgia entered the game ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, and it was well-known that whoever won would play Notre Dame

in the BCS national title game and likely win in dominant fashion, which is exactly what ended up happening.

The Crimson Tide were seven-point favorites against Georgia. Head coach Mark Richt’s Bulldogs had a chance to make a statement and secure the program’s first real shot at the national championship since the Herschel Walker years of the ‘80s.

After a half that involved a successful fake punt from Georgia and a 41-yard touchdown run from Alabama’s star running back Eddie Lacy — who finished the game with 181 rushing yards, two scores and was crowned the game’s MVP — Alabama held a 10-7 lead at halftime.

Georgia took the lead back on its first drive of the second half. Running back Todd Gurley punched in the touchdown after a huge deep ball from quarterback Aaron Murray to receiver Tavarres King, their second big play of the game. Gurley, then a true freshman, ended his day with

122 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Georgia’s national championship hopes began to look very, very real in the third quarter. The Bulldogs blocked an Alabama field goal and linebacker Alec Ogletree ran it all the way back for a touchdown to put Georgia up 21-10. Then, things got a little out of hand.

Alabama immediately responded, cut the deficit to three and proceeded to take a 25-21 lead. Another big play from Murray to King set up Gurley again, and gave the Bulldogs a 28-25 lead with just under 13 minutes to go.

Alabama answered with its tried and true formula — wide receiver Amari Cooper made a play. Quarterback A.J. McCarron sent a pass 45 yards down the field to the star wideout for a score, and Alabama led 32-28 with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Georgia would have to go the length of the field and score a touchdown to win.

After nearly throwing a game-sealing interception, Murray led the Bulldogs on a furious last-minute drive to get down to the Alabama 8-yard line. With no timeouts and just 10 seconds on the clock, Georgia could do one of three things: score a touchdown, get out of bounds or throw an incomplete pass to stop the clock.

Murray’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and caught by receiver Chris Conley at the 5-yard line, who immediately fell to the ground upon the catch.

Time expired. It was over. There was no SEC title, no national championship berth — just heartbreak. The Bulldogs were so close — 24 feet away — but not close enough. Saban had done it again.

As the years went by and the heartbreaking losses to Alabama piled up, it seemed like the Bulldogs would never get over the hump and conquer the Crimson Tide in a big game — until nearly a decade later, when they did just that in the 2021 national title game.

Still, Georgia has yet to find revenge in the SEC championship against Alabama, but will have another chance for redemption on Saturday.

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Stacking up wins Nazir Stackhouse’s role in sustaining success on defensive line Samuel Higgs Nazir Stackhouse has made a name for himself on Georgia’s defensive line.

Whether it be due to his infectious personality, his nearly 60,000 TikTok followers or his steady presence in Sanford Stadium, Georgia fans know the name of No. 78.

In his senior campaign, Stackhouse has found his footing after Georgia lost several contributing pieces to the NFL over the offseason.

“He’s worked really hard. We’ve challenged him,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Early in the season, [we] didn’t know if he was playing as well as he was the year before when he was hungrier. It was his first time starting and doing those things and he’s answered the bell here lately …

I love the fact he’s embraced getting in the best shape of his life so he can play his best football towards the end of the year.”

Coming out of Columbia High School in DeKalb County, Georgia, Stackhouse was a four-star prospect and the 25th overall player at his position in the class of 2020 according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He had garnered the attention of many power-five programs, but committed to the Bulldogs following their win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2017 College Football Playoff.

Stackhouse didn’t receive significant playing time until late last season, on a team in hot pursuit of a second straight national championship. In 2022, he racked up 33 total tackles in 15 games with three for a loss. So far into the 2023 season, Stackhouse has accumulated 17 total tackles, three for a loss along with two sacks. His signature play of the year came in one of Georgia’s biggest games of the season against then-No. 12 Missouri, where he logged the first interception of his football career and nearly took it back for a touchdown.

Just the daily grind that he goes through just to be a dominant player — I love him, and I tip my hat to him.

Z I O N L O G U E | GEORGIA DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Georgia defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse runs with the ball after an interception during a game against Missouri at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. Georgia won 30-21. P H O T O / L A N D E N T O D D “I was just making sure he didn’t pump fake me because I wanted to bat the ball down, he threw it right in my hands,” Stackhouse said. “It’s like a dream come true for a defensive lineman.”

Although his play on the field has been beneficial to Georgia’s undefeated record and No. 1 overall ranking, players like Mykel Williams have pointed to Stackhouse as a leader for the younger defensive linemen on the team. As one of the younger players on the line, Williams has seen the influence firsthand.

“He’s a funny guy. I’ve learned a lot of great things from Naz,” Williams said. “Simply how to strain, how to push through. He’s been showing up a lot recently and he deserves it. He’s been working hard. Most of the defensive line, really all of us, we stay out here and run extra every practice. He’s been right there with us. I’m glad to see it pay off for him.”

It is not just the younger players on the roster who have seen his work ethic. Longtime teammate and fellow senior defensive tackle Zion Logue has seen his teammate battle through adversity and struggles to get to where he is now.

Logue pointed to Stackhouse’s work ethic as to why he’s so proud of his friend.

“That’s my dog, man. Just knowing Naz, knowing who he is, knowing what he’s overcome over his time of his recruiting process in high school coming to Georgia,” Logue said. “A lot of people don’t know that Naz has narcolepsy, so he’s not allowed to drive. It’s hard for him to stay active and awake. Just the daily grind that he goes through just to be a dominant player — I love him, and I tip my hat to him.”

Georgia is set to play Alabama, the last team to have beaten the two-time national champions, in the SEC championship in December.

Stackhouse, among the other defenders, will have the task of stopping quarterback Jalen Milroe, who leads the team in rushing touchdowns with 12 on the season. However, Georgia, the SEC’s No. 4 overall rush defense, will attempt to limit the success of Alabama, the No. 6 overall rushing attack. With Stackhouse clogging up the middle, the defensive lineman and his teammates will strive to keep the possibility of a third-straight national championship alive.

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Points from the press box Bulldogs need to avoid familiar trap in SEC championship John James They’ve been here before.

Two years ago, in fact. Georgia came into the 2021 SEC Championship as an undefeated juggernaut, having convincingly defeated all comers in the leadup to the conference title game.

Alabama, meanwhile, entered as a one-loss team that had barely escaped a number of SEC matchups along the way. Just the week prior, the Crimson Tide had just managed to sneak out of Auburn with a two-point victory after four overtime periods.

The Bulldogs sported one of the best defenses in college football history, and an offense that was growing more confident in quarterback Stetson Bennett IV. They were 6.5-point favorites against Alabama, and a victory would have cemented their arrival as the new top dogs of the SEC. It didn’t play out like that.

The Crimson Tide rolled to a 41-24 victory, and put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter. The loss put Georgia’s playoff hopes in jeopardy, forced to contend with candidates such as a one-loss Notre Dame team, a two-loss Ohio State team and a number of other playoff hopefuls.

The Bulldogs ultimately made the playoffs as the third seed and capitalized on that opportunity en route to their first national championship in four decades. However, they had the luck of a relatively weak playoff field and the playoff committee voting in their favor. If the committee had chosen to include a different team instead of Georgia — which easily could’ve happened as Georgia didn’t even win its conference — that national championship run would’ve been cut off before it could even begin.

This year, Georgia can’t afford another SEC championship letdown, especially in such a crowded bunch of potential playoff teams. Georgia has

Georgia defensive back Kelee Ringo (5) runs the ball in the national champshionship against Alabama on Jan. 10, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. P H O T O / J E S S I C A G R A T I G N Y the resume of a top team — with three ranked wins over Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee — but a loss to Alabama could still be catastrophic to the team’s national championship hopes.

6.5

Georgia was favored by 6.5 points in the 2021 SEC championship game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide won that game 41-24.

Looking around the rest of the college football landscape, there are a number of teams that could reasonably take advantage of a potential Georgia setback.

First, there’s Alabama. With only one loss and a potential victory over Georgia in the SEC championship, the Crimson Tide would almost certainly earn a spot in the playoffs, which would make Georgia’s road to Houston that much more difficult.

Staying in the Southeast, if Florida State takes care of business next

week against No. 15 Louisville, then the Seminoles will be the undefeated ACC champions. The Pac-12 champion — either Washington or Oregon — will also have, at worst, a single loss.

Then there are the perennial contenders in the Big Ten. Michigan will likely finish the season as the undefeated conference champions, pending a victory over Iowa in the title game.

With that said, a one-loss Ohio State team is nothing to scoff at, even without the Big Ten title. Both of those organizations have established a reputation of consistent excellence, and the playoff committee could look to reward that.

That’s a lot of ifs, buts and hypotheticals, but the point remains: this is an incredibly crowded playoff field.

There are many teams that deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff this year, without mentioning Texas, a team with a chance to be a one-loss Big 12 champion.

A Georgia win in the SEC championship would firmly cement its place in the national championship conversation. With a loss, though, the Bulldogs would put their fates in the hands of the College Football Playoff committee — forced to wait with bated breath to see if their national championship hopes will live on until January.

NUMBERS TO KNOW: SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

#2

Alabama safety Caleb Downs In just his freshman season, Caleb Downs earned the starting spot at safety and has been the outright statistical leader of the Crimson Tide’s defense. With 60 solo tackles and 95 total tackles, he is ranked No. 4 in the SEC overall. The former No. 1 prospect in the state of Georgia has also been named SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season.

With his performance against Chattanooga, Downs was also named a player of the week by the Crimson Tide coaching staff.

Georgia offensive lineman Micah Morris After junior offensive lineman Tate Ratledge went down with a bone bruise in the first quarter against Tennessee, Georgia chose to insert redshirt sophomore Micah Morris at left guard. Morris and the offensive line fared just fine without Ratledge. The unit’s only mistake was allowing a lone sack with a minute left in the game and a bad snap leading to a fumble. As the Bulldogs inch closer to the postseason, Morris — who has been rotating in and out during the season — could become a full-time candidate to replace Ratledge if he’s not ready to play in time for the SEC championship.

#3

Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton In January 2022, Jermaine Burton announced his decision to transfer from Georgia to Alabama. So far this season, that decision has worked pretty well in Burton’s favor. The senior leads the Crimson Tide with 749 total receiving yards. Burton had a breakout game against Texas A&M, as he recorded a career-high of nine receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns. When Burton faces his former team, he’ll likely have an extra dose of motivation.

Georgia inside linebacker C.J. Allen With Jamon Dumas-Johnson still out with a fractured forearm, freshman C.J. Allen became the next man up in Georgia’s linebacker room. Allen impressed in his first career start against Ole Miss, as he finished with nine tackles and a sack to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors. The freshman has had a big role to fill in Dumas-Johnson’s absence, as he’s had to take over defensive play-calling in conjunction with Smael Mondon Jr. against both Ole Miss and Tennessee. Allen has done a solid job despite the role increase.

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#4

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe

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After an up-and-down start, it seems that the Crimson Tide offense has found its footing with redshirt sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe. Coming out of the bye week, Milroe rushed for a career-high of 155 yards and four touchdowns to set a new record for single-game rushing touchdowns for an Alabama quarterback. While Milroe didn’t throw for any touchdowns against LSU, he threw for three against Kentucky and Chattanooga.

One of Georgia’s biggest challenges against the Crimson Tide will be to contain the dual-threat quarterback, whose play is trending upward in recent weeks.

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers

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#56

Georgia is going to need Brock Bowers at his best against the Crimson Tide, especially with receivers Ladd McConkey and Rara Thomas both injured. Georgia’s roster is littered with injuries, but perhaps no one knows what it’s like to return from injury better than Bowers. In two games back after tightrope surgery, the junior caught 10 passes for a total of 94 yards and two touchdowns — though he sat out of last week’s matchup against Georgia Tech. With several targets potentially down, the Bulldogs will need Bowers to be a threat against the Crimson Tide.

#19

By Tori Newman

Thursday, November 30, 2023

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Highlights from last week’s game against Georgia Tech

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart coaches at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. P H O T O / L A N E Y M A R T I N

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) runs with the ball at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023.

Georgia won 31-23. P H O T O / L A N E Y M A R T I N

Georgia running back Kendall Milton (2) protects the ball against Tech’s defense at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. P H O T O / M A D Y M E R T E N S

Georgia wide receiver Dominic Lovett (6) catches the ball at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. P H O T O / L A N E Y M A R T I N

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