Georgia coach Kirby Smart has accomplished just about everything he set out to do when he took over the football program 10 years ago.
Earning a win in Tuscaloosa, Ala., however, is still a box to be checked.
Smart and the No. 2 Bulldogs will search for their first road victory over No. 6 Alabama since 2007 when the perennial national championship contenders meet in a Southeastern Conference clash of undefeated teams on Saturday night.
Nearing the midway point of the regular season, Georgia (5-0, 3-0) still hasn’t been seriously tested. Boasting the nation’s highest-scoring offense at an average of 51.4 points per game, the Bulldogs have breezed past their first three conference opponents in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt by nearly 27 points per contest.
Smart, a former national title-winning defensive coordinator at Alabama, said Saturday’s game against the Crimson Tide (5-0, 3-0) will be a huge challenge.
“I have a lot of respect for (coach) Kalen DeBoer and the way they go about things,” Smart said. “They have an extremely physical football team. They’re playing really high-level football right now. It’ll be a great challenge for us to go into a really tough environment, and our players are looking forward to it.”
Smart, who has two national championships at Georgia, lauded Alabama sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell as an “unbelievably savvy player with arm strength and pocket awareness.” However, it’s Smart’s quarterback who is delivering eye-popping numbers.
Senior Gunner Stockton, who still hasn’t played a full game due to lopsided fourth-quarter scores, is tied for sixth nationally in completion percentage (75.5%) and has thrown 13 touchdown passes, with just one interception.
“I’m certainly very happy and pleased with where Gunner is as a player,” Smart said. “I think experience helps. I think experience matters. I think how people play around you matters. I think game plan and what you’re asked to do, not asking the quarterback to do more than he needs to do is important. Gunner’s done a tremendous job of that.”
Alabama has the lone ranked win of the two teams, a 56-23 dismantling at then-No. 16 Mississippi State last week. Russell is averaging 323.3 passing across the Crimson Tide’s last three wins, which have seen the first-year starter total 13 touchdowns (10 passing and three rushing) and no interceptions.
Alabama enters the high-powered matchup with confidence; DeBoer said he believes his team needs to feel that way in order to win.
“They are going to be our toughest challenge by far up to this point,” DeBoer said. “Coach Smart and everything he’s done there, building the program up again this season and jumping on teams and sustaining it all game long. Obviously our program wouldn’t be where it’s at without a lot of things he brought to it. Nothing but great respect for coach Smart. We’ve got to be at our best this Saturday. We’re looking forward to the great challenge.”
The rivals most recently played in the SEC Championship Game in December, when Georgia won 28-7 to snap its three-game losing streak in the series.