SEC Championship Game 2025 Early Preview, Predictions for Georgia vs. Alabama

The Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide will once again determine the SEC champion on Saturday in Atlanta.

Saturday's meeting is the fourth SEC Championship Game battle between the two rivals since 2018.

Alabama's been the dominant force in the rivalry despite Georgia's rise to power under Kirby Smart.

Alabama is 7-1 against Georgia since 2018, including a September 27 victory in Athens.

SEC Championship Game Info

Date: Saturday, December 6

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Live Stream: ESPN+ and ESPN app

Preview

Alabama's domination of the rivalry with Georgia is a good sign for what the Crimson Tide needs to do from a College Football Playoff perspective.

Alabama sits at No. 10 in the current College Football Playoff rankings. That is assumed to be the position of the final at-large team.

The Crimson Tide need a victory to confirm their position in the 12-team field as the winner of the SEC's automatic bid.

A loss makes Alabama's situation more precarious because it could drop from No. 10 after suffering what would be its third defeat.

Kalen DeBoer is 2-0 against Georgia as Alabama head coach. The key to both of those games was a fast start.

A year ago, Alabama scored 21 first-quarter points behind Jalen Milroe and led 30-7 at halftime.

In September, Ty Simpson led the Crimson Tide to a 24-14 halftime advantage. Georgia couldn't make that deficit up, as it scored just seven points in the second half.

The onus is on Georgia to prevent Alabama from starting so fast that way the Bulldogs can enforce the way they want to play on the contest.

The Georgia defense allowed 22 points in the last three games. Two of those contests were against ranked foes, a sign that the defense could be UGA's X-factor not just in Atlanta, but in the CFB Playoff.

A strong defensive start would allow Gunner Stockton and the offense to settle into the game instead of forcing things while chasing Alabama.

A contained start for the UGA defense would also allow the Bulldogs' rushing attack to take over and control the clock. Georgia ran for 227 yards in the September loss to Alabama.

Alabama allows 124.3 rushing yards per game. That is the exploitable part of its defense since the secondary is only giving up 157.8 yards per contest.

Bama's passing defense is the seventh-best unit in the FBS, so it would benefit the Tide to get out to an early lead again so that its passing defense can try to slow down Stockton and his receivers.

Points are expected in some capacity, though, as the winner of the Alabama-Georgia came scored at least 24 points in the last 16 meetings between the SEC powerhouses.

Alabama's had the upper hand in the rivalry and has more to play for since Georgia is safe in the playoff field with its top-four ranking. That could be the difference-maker in a game that's been decided by a touchdown or less in the last three meetings.

Prediction: Alabama 28, Georgia 24