When Kirby Smart returned to his alma mater as head coach, Alabama was the top dog. The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs are the two-time defending national champions and haven't lost a game in nearly two years. Alabama included.
Alabama's national championship hopes came down to fourth-and-31 with a loss and some less dramatic close calls along the way. The Georgia Bulldogs, two-time defending champs, are still No. 1 and had a much less treacherous path to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game meeting of powerhouses Saturday in Atlanta despite some key injuries. The Bulldogs (12-0, 8-0 SEC, No. 1 CFP) completed their third straight perfect regular season with a 31-23 win over Georgia Tech and have been atop the rankings for an SEC-record 24 consecutive weeks.
Alabama has emerged from a gauntlet of Southeastern Conference games with its primary goals intact. The eighth-ranked Crimson Tide (9-1, No. 8 CFP) ride an eight-game winning streak into Saturday's matchup with the FCS team Chattanooga (7-3), trying to show coach Nick Saban they can avoid taking a step back regardless of the opponent. “If you’re going to peak at the right time, you can’t have peaks and valleys,” Saban said.