When there’s a big game to be played the DawgNation staff gets together for a series of posts examining the storylines involving a big game. This week for Georgia football at Alabama certainly applies here. How do DawgNation staffers Brandon Adams, Mike Griffith, Kaylee Mansell, Connor Riley and Jeff Sentell feel about this matchup?
The DawgNation team had a few names in mind for Saturday night’s grown-man football tilt with Alabama.
When Georgia football plays a big game like this, it is a time for the band to get together and kick the tires on a meaty topic. We used to call this “Cover 4″ but with five regular content providers on the team, we wanted to expand the scope just a bit.
This post is the third of those this week:
How important, perception or reality, is winning this game to each team on Saturday?
Brandon Adams: It matters a lot for Georgia
Why: The challenging nature of UGA’s schedule, coupled with an expanded Playoff, means a loss is more tolerable for the Bulldogs this season than it would’ve been in previous years. However, if Georgia were to lose early – such as Saturday – it would make the other difficult games that remain for UGA a lot more pressure-packed.
Mike Griffith: More important to Alabama
Why: Kalen DeBoer is a new head coach eager to put his stamp on the program and show recruits the brand value has not diminished in his leadership. The Tide hasn’t won a national title since 2020, Alabama maintained its image with SEC title game wins in 2021 and 2023. Beating Georgia would be something for a new coach to hang his hat on. Georgia, meanwhile, has other opportunity games to prove themselves at Texas and at Ole Miss.
Kaylee Mansell: More Important for UGA
Why: Questions around talent and standard won’t arise if Kalen DeBoer loses this game, it’s his first SEC game after all. If the Dawgs lose, then this flips the entire narrative around not just the conference but all of college football. The dragon must be slayed once and for all.
Connor Riley: More important for Georgia
Why: In reality, not very. Georgia could certainly have more impactful games later this season. But for perception, it’s a game that Kirby Smart in particular has to win.
Jeff Sentell: Only important for playoff seeding
Why: Alabama beat UGA by 17 in the SEC Championship in 2021. Who remembers that? Whatever happens is PR optics thanks to the 12-team playoff. The regular season’s oomph is reduced. People will say Kirby and Alabama this or that no matter what happens, but the simple fact is a UGA win creates a playoff cushion with several tough games up ahead. That’s more important than post-Saban narratives. No matter how sweet a win may seem, it just says this new UGA team took down a playoff-level opponent on the road. That will matter a lot for playoff seeding. It likely means more for DeBoer and his Alabama honeymoon. Smart will still have won two national titles and have the best overall roster in college football next week no matter what.
Do you have an opinion here on this one? DawgNation welcomes you to join our huddle in the comments section below.
DAWGNATION HUDDLE SO FAR THIS WEEK:
-- Which Georgia Bulldog is poised for the big breakout win against Alabama?
