Written By: Ernie Casanova
ATLANTA, GA— So, the stage is set. It will be the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Georgia Bulldogs in this year’s College Football National Championship in what turned out to be a battle of SEC supremacy. It was wild playoff weekend, with Georgia toppling Oklahoma in an instant classic at the Rose Bowl by a score of 54-48. Shortly after, Alabama convincingly knocked off No. 1 Clemson 24-6 in their third straight playoff matchup in as many years. The meeting between these two powerhouses will take place on Monday, January 8th in Atlanta (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in what people deem to call a home game for the Bulldogs.
With both teams representing the SEC, they will not be too far from home and should allow them to prepare and play more comfortably. It will be the first meeting between head coaches Kirby Smart and Nick Saban, with Smart working under Saban for years as Alabama’s defensive coordinator before leaving to take the job at Georgia, his alma mater.
Historically that hasn’t gone well for former assistants of Saban, as the record from previous examples will prove itself. Former assistants under Saban currently do not have any wins against the five-time national champion, and Saban doesn’t plan on having that change anytime soon.
When asked about his former protege, Saban isn’t surprised of his success but understands that Georgia was a great landing spot.
“Well, Georgia had a pretty good nucleus of players there. I think they won 10 games the year he took over. Now, he has done a fantastic job of bringing those players along, getting those players to play with discipline, getting them to play together. They play hard. They're very relentless, and I think this last game was sort of a reflection on the attitude that he's been able to instill to overcome adversity and come back in a game like they did against Oklahoma. They're playing extremely well, which is a reflection on his ability and his leadership to get everybody to buy in to doing things the way he wanted them done so that they could play at a very high level, and they certainly are. They have a lot of good players, and they're all playing at a very high level, and I think that's a compliment to the coach and the coaching staff.”
Georgia’s QB, freshman Jake Fromm was a former Alabama commit before deciding to stay near home and play for the Bulldogs. Now, he’s led Georgia to the title game and their first SEC title since 2005.
“Well, we thought he was a fantastic player, very instinctive, very smart, makes great choices and decisions, doesn't -- always puts his team in the best play that they can be in. I think he does a lot of check-with-me's, which for a freshman quarterback probably demonstrates his knowledge of the game and preparation and intelligence. He's always been a -- was a fantastic passer and remains that way. We thought he was a great player. We had him in camp, and we were excited to have him be a part of our program, but we also understood when Kirby went to Georgia and Kirby was recruiting him that there was a chance of that happening,” Saban stated on what happened with Fromm.
Still, the past is the past. As Smart stated, “The focus moving forward will be on preparing for Alabama and what's a great program Coach Saban has got.”
The nation will be in for a great show between two top-five defenses and competent offenses.
With both teams representing the SEC, they will not be too far from home and should allow them to prepare and play more comfortably. It will be the first meeting between head coaches Kirby Smart and Nick Saban, with Smart working under Saban for years as Alabama’s defensive coordinator before leaving to take the job at Georgia, his alma mater.
Historically that hasn’t gone well for former assistants of Saban, as the record from previous examples will prove itself. Former assistants under Saban currently do not have any wins against the five-time national champion, and Saban doesn’t plan on having that change anytime soon.
When asked about his former protege, Saban isn’t surprised of his success but understands that Georgia was a great landing spot.
“Well, Georgia had a pretty good nucleus of players there. I think they won 10 games the year he took over. Now, he has done a fantastic job of bringing those players along, getting those players to play with discipline, getting them to play together. They play hard. They're very relentless, and I think this last game was sort of a reflection on the attitude that he's been able to instill to overcome adversity and come back in a game like they did against Oklahoma. They're playing extremely well, which is a reflection on his ability and his leadership to get everybody to buy in to doing things the way he wanted them done so that they could play at a very high level, and they certainly are. They have a lot of good players, and they're all playing at a very high level, and I think that's a compliment to the coach and the coaching staff.”
Georgia’s QB, freshman Jake Fromm was a former Alabama commit before deciding to stay near home and play for the Bulldogs. Now, he’s led Georgia to the title game and their first SEC title since 2005.
“Well, we thought he was a fantastic player, very instinctive, very smart, makes great choices and decisions, doesn't -- always puts his team in the best play that they can be in. I think he does a lot of check-with-me's, which for a freshman quarterback probably demonstrates his knowledge of the game and preparation and intelligence. He's always been a -- was a fantastic passer and remains that way. We thought he was a great player. We had him in camp, and we were excited to have him be a part of our program, but we also understood when Kirby went to Georgia and Kirby was recruiting him that there was a chance of that happening,” Saban stated on what happened with Fromm.
Still, the past is the past. As Smart stated, “The focus moving forward will be on preparing for Alabama and what's a great program Coach Saban has got.”
The nation will be in for a great show between two top-five defenses and competent offenses.