ATHENS — It hasn’t taken much time for the pregame talk leading into the Georgia-Alabama matchup to heat up with the 7:30 p.m. kick on Saturday rapidly approaching.

The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs and No. 4-ranked Crimson Tide have displayed vastly different approaches this week in their media dealings.

Coach Kirby Smart’s players have appeared stone faced and businesslike, while first-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is seemingly basking in the pregame glow of the weekend’s marquee event.

SEC Network analyst Finabaum weighed in during his appearance on DawgNation’s “On the Beat” program on Monday night, explaining why he’s leaning toward picking the Crimson Tide to win.

“It’s completely opposite of what it was two weeks ago when I felt confident in Georgia,” Finebaum said. “I think the signs point toward Alabama…”

Both the Tide and Bulldogs were idle last weekend, each having an extra week to prepare for what could be a preview of the SEC Championship Game.

Alabama won its most recent outing by a 42-10 count at Wisconsin, knocking out the Badgers starting quarterback on the second drive of the game.

“Alabama is a very loose confident team, and I’ve talked to these Alabama players and Nick Saban in Dallas, and he said ‘Don’t worry about our culture,” Finebaum said. “They are confident, and part of the confidence comes from their wins over Georgia.”

The Tide has won five of six meetings against Georgia teams coached by Smart, including a 27-24 victory in last season’s SEC Championship Game.

Georgia, meanwhile, struggled in a 13-12 slugfest at Kentucky, losing preseason All-American offensive guard Tate Ratledge in the second quarter to an ankle injury that led to tightrope surgery.

“It feels like they’ve got a loss coming here somewhere, whether it’s this week or Texas or Ole Miss or somewhere,” Finebaum said.

“Part of the problem is injuries; when you lose one of your key offensive linemen in Ratledge, and you’re not sure about the defensive line, you’ve played poorly, and you’ve got questions about Carson Beck ….”

Finebaum had more to say about Beck’s future, in addition to digging into the rise of Tennessee and the Vols championship hopes, and the issues that could ultimately lead to second-year Auburn coach Hugh Freeze getting fired sooner than later.