Georgia vs. Alabama: Which coach, program is facing more pressure?

College Football

Published Sep. 27, 2024 12:44 p.m. ET

One of the biggest games of the college football season is set to take place on Saturday.

No. 2 Georgia heads to Tuscaloosa to battle No. 4 Alabama in a rematch of last season’s SEC title game. So far, each team has done what it needed to do. Both teams are 3-0, with Georgia squeaking out a win against Kentucky and Alabama comfortably winning against Wisconsin in Week 3.

With both teams holding serve to this point, the significance of this matchup remains the same from when I pointed to it as one of the 10 games that will define the 2024 season back in June. I’ll have a full on-field preview of this matchup in Thursday’s episode of “The Joel Klatt Show.” But as the ramifications of Saturday’s result will likely be massive, I want to take a 30,000-foot view to evaluate where these programs are at in respect to the rest of the sport and where each of them is at in their respective history.

Obviously, the two head coaches in Saturday’s game are really good. I consider Kirby Smart to be the best coach in college football at the moment. His record speaks for itself – two national championships with both wins coming in the last three years.

However, where is the pressure sitting in this game, at least how it relates to the coaches? You might think to yourself, “Well, the obvious answer to that question is the guy replacing Nick Saban.” If you are thinking that, slow down for a moment. I actually think there’s more pressure on Smart in Saturday’s game.

Smart has done everything and he’s dominated everybody in the sport. Well, he’s done all but one thing: overtake his mentor at Alabama, Nick Saban. He was 1-5 against Alabama in the six games he went up against Saban after becoming Georgia’s head coach in 2016. Even during Georgia’s dominant run over the last three seasons, Alabama has been its kryptonite. Georgia’s only two losses since 2021 have come to Alabama, going 1-2 against the Crimson Tide in the last three years.

So, the narrative around Smart, at least for me, is that he’s the best coach in college football, but he couldn’t beat Saban. If Smart actually loses this game on Saturday, this would become a giant issue for him. The one problem he’s had would turn from a Nick Saban problem to an Alabama problem that he still has.

Up until now, you can at least explain away the problem that Smart’s had with Alabama to this point by saying, “He’s only losing games to Saban, the greatest coach in the history of the sport.” But if Smart loses to Kalen DeBoer on Saturday, the Alabama problem becomes magnified. Alabama has a great recruiting class coming in, and DeBoer getting a signature win like this early in his tenure would solidify what he’s building in Tuscaloosa. That would not be good for Smart.

Kirby Smart coached under Nick Saban for nine seasons at Alabama. He went 1-5 against Saban as a head coach at Georgia.

On the flip side, the people who think DeBoer has more pressure on him in Saturday’s game have a good reason to feel that way. The success that Saban had against Georgia puts pressure on DeBoer to do the same thing. If Alabama isn’t able to win on Saturday, then the Tide might be taking a step backward from where they have been for most of the last 15 years. I don’t think Alabama fans would be all too happy with a clear step backward.

DeBoer hasn’t been tested yet in his young tenure at Alabama. We thought Wisconsin could serve as the first big test for him, but the Badgers weren’t in a position to threaten a team like the Crimson Tide with all the firepower they have. Maybe that game was more of a bread basket ahead of the entrée that will be the game against Georgia.

DeBoer needs to win this game. If he doesn’t, not only would it be a clear step back from how things have been for Alabama, but it could impact his upcoming recruiting class. Alabama’s recruiting class for 2025 is the second-best in the nation, per 247 Sports. But that doesn’t mean the class will be ranked really high come signing day, and I think this game might sway some recruits in certain directions.

I will give this one caveat for DeBoer, though: If he loses in a really tight game and Alabama plays really well, I think everyone will be like, “OK, you know what? We’re fine.” If Alabama loses by multiple scores in a major night game, then some people might think to themselves that this is a clear step back from the Saban days. DeBoer desperately wants to avoid that. He doesn’t want to deal with that as a narrative surrounding him or on the recruiting trail.

Georgia vs. Alabama: Who has more pressure on Saturday?

What actually happens if Alabama wins? That would be a seismic opportunity for DeBoer. It can allow him to plant the flag and say, “There will be no drop-off from the greatest coach in the history of the sport.” That’s saying something. That’s why it would be a seismic win for DeBoer and Alabama.

Going back to the recruiting element, Alabama actually has the highest per player rating in the Class of 2025 on 247 Sports. The Tide have more five-star commitments than anyone else. So, DeBoer has already recruited exceptionally well in his short time at Alabama. A win over Georgia would send that class, which only has 20 commits, into hyperdrive. Maybe you can get another five-star or two to close off that recruiting class.

Removing the coaches and focusing on the programs, the ramifications of a loss for each team would be pretty severe for this season. One of the things I bristle at is those who say the 12-team playoff is creating a meaningless regular season and that it doesn’t matter what happens in games like Saturday’s matchup.

I absolutely disagree with that sentiment. The loser of Saturday’s game will be in a position where it’s almost impossible to get back to the SEC Championship Game. It isn’t entirely impossible, but the loser would likely have to run the table. Even then, it wouldn’t be guaranteed that the team would make it to the conference title game.

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If you can’t make it to the SEC Championship Game, that means you certainly won’t have a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. That’s a big deal. Looking at the schedules each team has following Saturday’s game, it’s far from a guarantee that the loser will run the table, too. If that team picks up a second loss, not only would you not get a bye, but you’ll likely be playing on the road in the first round of the CFP.

Let’s take a quick look at each team’s schedule. Georgia still has games at No. 1 Texas and at No. 6 Ole Miss before hosting No. 5 Tennessee in November. As for Alabama, it has games at No. 5 Tennessee, at No. 14 LSU and at No. 21 Oklahoma. It also has a home game against No. 11 Missouri and closes the year out against Auburn, who was always a tough beat even during Saban’s best seasons.

Suffice to say, the loser of this game has a thin path to the SEC title game. That alone would make this game monumental. When you consider the pressure, expectations and narratives surrounding the two coaches and programs, this is a massive matchup.

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him on X/Twitter at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.

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