Georgia and Alabama continue to set SEC standard, even as game has changed

Kirby Smart, Kalen DeBoer (Getty) TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - SEPTEMBER 28: Head coach Kalen DeBoer of the Alabama Crimson Tide speaks to head coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs before the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 28, 2024 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

December 1, 2025 at 5:27 p.m. UTC

By Mike Griffith, DawgNation

ATHENS — A lot has changed since Georgia and Alabama met at Sanford Stadium just over two months ago, but not the program’s expectations.

The Bulldogs (11-1) and Crimson Tide (10-2) were viewed as the programs that set the SEC standard when they met on Sept. 27, both expected to contend for the league title that they will indeed settle between them at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It’s Georgia’s eighth appearance in the past nine years under Kirby Smart — and fifth in a row, for the defending SEC championship coach — and Alabama’s 11th since Nick Saban took over as head coach in 2007, and Kalen DeBoer succeeded him in 2024.