SEC Football Weekly Rundown: Georgia-Alabama Blackout Highlights Week Five

Well, I for one hold Mark Richt in high regard. He will have his team ready for whatever comes their way this year. He has done a great job at Georgia for the most part.

Now he has dropped a few games that should have been won. There’s no doubt about that. But overall, he has had his team at or near the top of the SEC for several years now. Other teams respect him and take him seriously. I’m sure that Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier, as well as many other coaches, would attest to that statement.

But this game coming up Saturday is different. It is different for a number of reasons. One is that Bama and UGA don’t normally face off every year, so this matchup of traditional powerhouses doesn’t get displayed very often.

That won’t stop the hype that’s being poured into this game, and for good reason.

This is only the ninth time that two top 10 teams have played between the hedges. UGA has a 5-3 record in those first eight top 10 games, including a 21-0 win over Bama in 1976. The Dawgs were ranked sixth nationally, and the Tide was ranked number 10 in that contest.

Everyone knows about the blackout. The seniors requested it, and Richt gave the thumbs up. Why not let the seniors have reason to get pumped for this game? Why not let them have a little fun? Isn’t that what the game is all about?

I’m sure by now everyone has heard the YouTube video from T-Town. I mean, this stuff happens every week, really. You just don’t see it until the big games come around and all eyes are focused on two teams.

Rumors are circulating that the video is being played in Georgia’s locker room. I don’t doubt it. Even if it were not, these Dawgs are smart enough to look it up themselves on the Internet.

Hype? Yeah. I’d say it’s all around this game. Some may look as hype as a bad thing. I think it just adds excitement. After all, who besides Gator fans didn’t love the dance at the Cocktail Party last year?

So, here we go. The preseason number one faces off against the preseason’s unknown: the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Bama

Coming into the season, the Clemson game was thought to have been Bama’s biggest challenge. Why is that?

Well, many thought Clemson would have a great shot at making it to the national championship. The ACC is down. They have some great players. Bama, their only real non-conference foe, was too young to hang with them. So Clemson, not the number one ranked Bulldogs, would pose the Tide’s biggest challenge, most believed.

Okay, Clemson down 34-10, 11 more to go. That has been the season’s motto. One game—no, wait, one play at a time. Finishing every detail before moving on to the next. Bama has done that so far this year, outperforming most expectations, including mine.

Tulane was a bump in the road, but after the Clemson game it was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Bama: a wake-up call! The Tide rolled in the next two games and is not looking back! Now UGA sits at the top of the biggest games this year.

Bama is pounding it out on the ground, averaging 230-plus yards rushing per game this year. That’s pretty impressive—impressive enough to put them at the top in rush offense in the SEC. Throw in a great rush defense, and you have two pretty impressive lines on both sides of the ball.

I think this season has worked to Bama’s favor so far, the way everything has been lined up and the way Bama has responded. Now, when the Tide is hitting on all cylinders, it’s time to go east and face off with the Dawgs, a real challenge.

This game is big, no doubt about it. Even a lesser Tide team got up for this one and fell just short in overtime last year. You don’t think they remember how close they came to knocking off the Bulldogs in ‘07? They do! They don’t need any tactics to get them up for it.

If the game itself is not reason enough to get motivated, then bring on the black unis, right? If it takes something to get you pumped for the number eight team in the nation, then by all means, pull out the black.

Game Prediction

Two things are in Bama’s favor. First, all the pressure is on UGA. They were the preseason number one and national champion contenders. Bama, on the other hand, was predicted by some to finish 3-2 at best in the month of September.

The Crimson Tide has surpassed all expectations, and still not many think they will knock off UGA. Therefore, this young team can go out there, lay it all out on the line, and play their game. Nothing is there to lose, and everything is there to gain!

Second, the young Tide defense is playing out of this world. Granted, it has been against some of the lesser opponents on their schedule, but they have stepped up.

Bama's linebacker depth has proven not to be as big a problem as was thought over the summer, and the D-line is playing out of this world. Now they will face off against a young Georgia offensive line. Can Georgia’s young line hold off the likes of Terrance Cody? That will be the telling story of the game.

John Parker Wilson is being handed over to the wolves, but the running backs at Bama WILL carry this team. The pressure will be on Matt Stafford. Can his young line hold off the defensive pressure of Bama to get those screen passes and long bombs?

That, in my opinion, will be the difference of the game. Bama’s D will be too much on the young offensive line. Just ask Clemson’s young front what it’s like to go up against Bama’s D-line!

Bama gets an early lead, and unlike the Gamecocks earlier this season, holds on to win it.

Bama 27, UGA 23

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