ATHENS —Georgia football coach Kirby Smart has the blueprint to beat Alabama, but it remains to be seen if the Bulldogs have the players to execute it.
Smart has said he’s not sure if anyone can completely stop Alabama, but Georgia could slow the Tide enough for its offense to get the job done.
Alabama has proven to have one of the most explosive offenses in college football history, posting a five-touchdown average margin of victory against SEC teams and rolling up 500 yards or more of offense in 11 of 12 games.
The Bulldogs, however, lead the nation with just 25 plays of 20 or more allowed, leading to a strength-on-strength sort of matchup between the UGA defensive backs and the Tide receivers.
Does Smart think his players are as fast as Alabamas wideouts?
“II don’t have any GPS numbers, I don’t know, they’re fast,” Smart said. “On tape, they’re really fast. They’ve got fast guys. We’ve got some guys in our secondary who have run some fast track times, but it’s really not about that. It’s about who can cover who, who can match up, and get hands on people.
“ If you’ve got all day back there, it probably doesn’t matter anyway because eventually, there’s somebody going to get open. We have to affect the quarterback and do a good job. I don’t know who’s faster. I guess we’ll find out Saturday.”
Georgia football-Alabama details
• Time: The game kicks off at 4 p.m. ET Saturday • Date: Dec. 1, 2018 • Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Athens
• Outside Weather forecast: Cloudy with an 80-percent chance of rain outside of the stadium.
DawgNation Georgia football coverage
• Follow: DawgNation beat writers Mike Griffith @MikeGriffith32 and Chip Towers @ChipTowersDN on Twitter.
• Watch: Brandon Adams and Jeff Sentell on the postgame show via DawgNation Facebook page.
How to watch Georgia-Alabama on TV
The Georgia-Alabama game will be televised by CBS. Brad Nessler will handle the play-by-play call, and Gary Danielson will provide color commentary. Jamie Erdahl will be the sideline reporter.
How to stream Georgia-Alabama football
The game can be streamed online at GTV on georgiadogs.com.
How to watch Georgia football vs. Alabama online.
The game can be watched online at CBSsports.com.
Where to find Georgia-Alabama on radio
The game will be broadcast on WSB 95.5 FM, 750 AM, along with other Georgia Bulldog Sport Network (IMG) radio affiliates. Scott Howard is on the play-by-play call, Eric Zeier is the color analyst, and Chuck Dowdle is the sideline reporter.
Satellite radio for Georgia football vs. Alabama
The game will be broadcast on Sirius channel 146 and XM channel 190 (Georgia broadcast).
Georgia football vs. Alabama game notes
• Alabama leads the all-time series with Georgia,39-25-4
• Georgia football is 5-2 against Top 10 ranked teams in Kirby Smart’s three seasons as head coach
• Alabama has won 23 straight against SEC East Division teams, dating back to a loss at South Carolina in 2010.
• Georgia football is 3-3 in the SEC Championship Game and is the defending league champ, beating Auburn last year.
• Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is completing 69.1 percent of his passes, on par to break the single-season record of 67.9 set by Hutson Mason in 2014. Tim Couch holds the SEC record, completing 72.3 percent in 1998.
• Alabama is the first team in the college football modern era to win its first 12 games in a season by 20 points or more, and the Tide’s average margin of victory in SEC games (35.2) is the most in league history.
• Alabama beat Georgia in the College Football Playoff Championship Game last January, 26-23, in overtime.
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