In their loss to Florida State in Week 1, the Crimson Tide was dominated on every front. But credit where it’s due, Alabama has slowly climbed its way back in the AP polls, rising five spots to No. 14 this week. Ty Simpson is showing why he was trusted with the starting role. The Week 1 jitters are no longer there, and the passes are more accurate. But now the real test is in Athens next week, and the buzz is impossible to miss. This is one of September’s marquee games, and it arrives with real stakes for both brands. 

Kirby Smart’s Georgia is still in the top five, but the Bulldogs needed overtime and many unforced errors on Tennessee’s part to beat them. The game was Tennessee’s to lose, and they did. But they were the better team throughout those 60 minutes. The Bulldogs looked largely like their old selves early in the season when they were beating small teams. But the Tennessee trip revealed some cracks under pressure. And all of that sets up for an amazing September showdown between Alabama and Georgia, where both teams are looking to prove their mettle against a ranked opponent. 

And that exact message was echoed this week by Crimson Tide insider Chris Stewart. While talking on Jox 94.5, he was asked how Georgia looked to him. “Vulnerable but resilient and still with a mindset. Yes, they caught a huge break when Tennessee missed the kick at the end, but once they got that, once they missed it, you just had the feeling that Georgia was going to find a way to get them once again. And that certainly proved to be the case.” The description fits a night when Georgia bent but didn’t break, survived a 43-yard scare, and then leaned on overtime composure to silence a raucous Neyland and slip out with a win. 

Stewart also talked about how Alabama has recalibrated itself after Week 1 and framed that their loss has ultimately benefited them a lot. “I think it forced them to re-evaluate a little bit, but it didn’t take long, and they understood the things they needed to fix. They understood the areas where they needed to get better, but they didn’t change who they were or what they’re doing. They just knew they needed to be better and be more consistent,” he said. And that’s exactly what we witnessed in the 73-0 win against ULM and then against Wisconsin. The defense is performing much better, Ty Simpson is looking every bit of a quarterback who can endure the SEC grind, and overall, the team looks like it can take a ranked opponent.

All of which makes the September matchup the litmus test, on which both teams would go all out. But even in this matchup, Georgia’s unbeaten start gives Kirby Smart a lot of cushion, because even if they stumble, they could comfortably continue their playoff run. But one more loss and Alabama has to clear its remaining SEC schedule unbeaten to see the light of the playoffs.

Moreover, the rollercoaster for Bama only goes up from here. They still have to face at least 5 SEC teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 and some more that have the caliber to be ranked. We should be expecting urgency on both sidelines, but the pressure in the Bama camp will be harsher. Georgia can live with a slip-up, but the Crimson Tide will have to go lossless in the remaining SEC grind.

Wake-up call in Tuscaloosa

We all know last season was not the best for Kalen DeBoer and Alabama, with a 9-4 record. And that’s what everyone thought would continue this season, too, after the loss to Florida State. But Bama has been redeeming itself awfully well after that. They are at No. 3 in ESPN’s FPI, which is one spot ahead of Georgia. This gap, yet again, adds an edge to the September clash.

On September 17, during Alfa Insurance’s “Hey Coach & The Kalen DeBoer Show,” the head coach phoned in and addressed a costly special teams miscue from the Wisconsin win. It was about a penalty that forced a kickoff from the 20, which then triggered a long return and, in his words, a needed jolt. “With our kickoff team, over the last year and a half, it’s just been really… one of our units that we’ve almost been bullish about… So it’s a good little wake-up call there for that unit.”

DeBoer diagnosed the problem as precision and placement rather than panic. He explained, “It’s a lot of little things that just a couple of people need to do better. We want that ball kicked to a little different spot. There’s just a lot of pieces that play into when a ball is kicked that far downfield. There’s a lot of space for the return to get set up.”

This was a throwback to Week 1 when Conor Talty kicked a 53-yarder that was a bit too short for the points. Tide has had an immaculate kicking record during the Will Reichard era that set the gold standard for Bama’s kicking consistency. But it’s not all gloomy. DeBoer also talked about the bright spots, like punter Blade Doud’s composure and Talty’s overall dependability across field goals and kickoffs. And those corrections will meet the test when Bama meets Georgia away from home.