The major SEC game between No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama has got everyone hyped up! Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs recently shifted down to No. 2 after their lackluster Week 3 win against Kentucky. Alabama is about to play the Bulldogs for the first time without Nick Saban in 17 years. But Kalen DeBoer‘s great leadership didn’t take any pressure off of Smart’s shoulders as he revealed on The Paul Finebaum Show. 

Ahead of the Saturday game, ESPN College Football posted an interview of Kirby Smart with Paul Finebaum on YouTube on September 26. When asked if the upcoming game is going to be a different experience for him without Nick Saban, he laughed it out saying, “I don’t think so. I mean, apparently, he’ll still be there from what I hear with game day and everything.” Saban’s new ESPN College GameDay job will have him calling the game in Tuscaloosa between his former team and one of the SEC leaders. 

Kirby Smart is also aware of the talented players in Alabama who have come off a strong start under Kalen DeBoer with three dominant victories so far. He added, “They got a really good football team. They’re very well coached. They’re very sound in all their schemes. That hasn’t changed and good football players are going to determine this outcome, not coaches.” 

Smart’s right. No matter how good of a coach someone is, a roster that lacks talents will become their downfall. But Alabama has a winning culture, with or without Nick Saban and Smart is going to make sure that their preparation doesn’t slack if they want to make an epic comeback from their last 13-12 win. 

Georgia vs Alabama upcoming SEC game 

This is where Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe will lock in a QB battle. Out of the three games played, Georgia secured a 95-18 record compared to Alabama’s 147-26 record. Still they enter as a 2-point favorite to win the upcoming game, the first time since 2007 that the Crimson Tide are entering the game as an underdog against the Bulldogs. 

As an analyst now, Nick Saban spoke of how he would handle picking a game in Tuscaloosa back in February. He told WVTM13’s Sports Director Ryan Hennessy, “I have tried to steer away from picking people, I think I am going to have to do that now but I don’t know that you always have to pick the team you think is going to win.” For Alabama, this will be their 59th appearance on College GameDay, the first under their retired HC. Can DeBoer carry Saban’s legacy with an upset over Smart’s Bulldogs? After all, they have more than a game to win!