“People believed in him after failing to believe in him at the end of last season, but there’s no escaping it. You started hearing words last night like ‘Hot seat,’ ‘Buyout,’ which, by the way, is $70 million.” Paul Finebaum didn’t mince his words when Alabama fell to the Noles in Week 1. Last year, the Tide missed the playoffs with three losses, and on your way to make amends, you can’t start with a loss. Since then, the Tide has managed two wins, but a real challenge awaits in Week 5 as they travel to face Georgia. However, if Greg McElroy is to be believed, even losing against the Dawgs may not hamper Bama’s playoff chances.

On paper, it’s a clash of two heavyweights. But in reality, it’s No. 5 facing No. 17. A lesser draw than the White Out game between Oregon and Penn State. Georgia comes to the game with a perfect slate but some concerns. Especially in the passing offense, which ranks 43rd nationally. Despite their loss, Bama currently ranks 9th. You see a complete switch when we talk about the rush offense. Georgia is at 30th place, but Bama is way down at 103rd. That Georgia running game could freshen up some wounds in the Bama fanbase, but if McElroy thinks that even with a loss, the Tide are saw.

McElroy, in a recent podcast episode of ‘Jox 94.5,’ talked about how Bama could even make it to the playoffs this year with a 9-win season. The former Bama QB turned analyst cited the Tide’s edge over most of the opponents except LSU and Georgia. “You know what’s funny? A lot of people have asked me that. And look, it’s a tough game. I mean, if you can steal one on the road in this league, it’s like, man, big time…,” said McElroy and provided an optimistic scenario for Alabama if they lost the UGA game.

“If you look at the numbers for Alabama in the event in which they lose this game, which, by the way, could happen. It’s a toss-up. It’s a hard game. There’s no denying that… So guess what? You steal one this week, then you’re in really good shape. You lose this one this week, you just have to win your coin toss games,” said McElroy. The “coin toss” games for Alabama this season, according to McElroy, are many, and Bama could surely win strongly in all of them.

Alabama is a “big favorite” against Vanderbilt in Week 6, while against Missouri, Kalen DeBoer is still favored slightly by a “field goal.” In other games, like against Tennessee and South Carolina, the Crimson Tide is still a favorite by “six points” and “single digits,” respectively. Against LSU, however, McElroy wasn’t confident, touting the Tigers to be a “playoff” team, capable of handing over a loss.

But apart from LSU, the analyst touted Bama to be the favorite against Oklahoma by 3.5 points, while against Auburn, the Crimson Tide are 6.5 favorites. That explains why McElroy touted Kalen DeBoer to make the playoffs despite a 9-win season. That said, against Georgia, can Alabama still come out with a win?

Does Alabama have enough in the tank to defeat Georgia?

This game is shaping up to be a real battle. The Dawgs have a great ground game, but we can’t forget about their passing game either. Just look at Gunner Stockton’s amazing Hail Mary against Tennessee! Plus, Georgia has been fantastic at stopping red zone conversions this year, only allowing three scores so far, which puts them 6th in the country. That said, since Alabama mainly relies on its passing attack, Georgia has had a tough time dealing with that part of its game lately.

The Dawgs are ranked 80th nationally, allowing 651 yards so far in the air, and Alabama has so far notched up 1007 yards in the same. That dynamic tilts some momentum towards Alabama. So, if Ty Simpson has an exceptional outing against Georgia (which is possible, considering his 83% completion rate against Wisconsin), we could surely see an upset in Athens, Georgia.

Alabama has progressed a lot after its FSU upset and is finally finding its form under Kalen DeBoer. “That loss [to Florida State] stung, but it showed us where we need to grow. The response against ULM and Wisconsin proves this team’s got fight,” said Kalen DeBoer. Of course, expecting a win against Georgia in the SEC is still big on the road, and we could see a nail-biting thriller as we saw against Tennessee when Georgia went to Knoxville.