GO BAMA: Alabama Faces Unusual Home Underdog Status Against Georgia Due To There….

Alabama football fans will be familiar with what they see from the Georgia defense on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa because it’s the same defense that was ran in Tuscaloosa since Georgia came to town back in 2007.

Kirby Smart built the Bulldogs in Alabama’s image, and Georgia has consistently had one of, if not the best, defense in college football over the last several years. Not much has changed in 2024 as Georgia enters their fourth game of the season not yet having surrendered a single touchdown.

Its ability to keep offenses out of the endzone is directly responsible for their win in Lexington two weeks ago when the offense struggled to consistently move the football. The Wildcats had scoring chances, but were ultimately held to four field goals and lost the game by a single point.

Everywhere you look, you’ll see familiar names. Alabama and Georgia have largely recruited the same players since Smart took over in Athens eight years ago. Everyone on their defense held an Alabama offer in their hand at one point in time.

Georgia has been dealing with a few injuries defensively, but I would expect all of those guys to play on Saturday night. The biggest injury question mark is star defensive end Mykel Williams, who missed the last two games. Smart wouldn’t go so far as to say Williams would definitely play, but he’s optimistic. In a game this big, if a key player is 75% of what they can be, they’ll play. Expect Williams to be on the field in Tuscaloosa.

Getting Williams back will be key because without him, Georgia really struggled to stop the run against the Wildcats. Kentucky racked up 170 yards on the ground and really controlled both lines of scrimmage, a huge shock to the system for those of us watching and used to seeing Georgia impose its will on everyone it faces not named Alabama.

Running the ball consistently will be key for the Crimson Tide. Georgia gives up a success rate of only 17% on obvious passing downs, but they’re at 47% on standard downs. If Alabama can stay on schedule offensively, it opens up the entire offense on third downs and avoids those third-and-longs that are tough against any defense, not to mention one littered with future NFL players on the back end.