Georgia-Alabama Showdown Could Leave SEC With Two Unbeaten Teams
Week 6 brings a high-stakes Georgia-Alabama matchup, with both teams among the SEC’s unbeaten sides. ESPN’s Bill Connelly also highlights Texas-Oklahoma…
College football Week 6 puts Georgia and Alabama on a collision course that could thin the SEC’s unbeaten ranks, with the No. 2 Bulldogs visiting the No. 6 Crimson Tide on Saturday night. At most, only two teams will remain unbeaten in SEC play after the game, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly.
The stakes reach beyond one result. Georgia and Alabama are both playing at a high level, and the matchup could shape the conference race; heavy rain linked to Hurricane Isaias may also affect the contest at Alabama, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
It is a loaded slate. Connelly’s Week 6 preview also points to Texas-Oklahoma, UCLA-Oregon and Nebraska-Indiana as major games, with playoff ambitions and conference positions in play across the schedule.
Georgia faces its Alabama hurdle
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has struggled against the Crimson Tide compared with his record against other teams. Since the start of 2017, Smart’s Bulldogs are 2-7 against Alabama and 112-9 against everyone else, despite an overall record of 114-16.
Connelly describes this as Smart’s strongest Georgia team since 2023. The Bulldogs have added explosiveness and have been particularly tough against the run, while some issues in pass defense have not yet become a major concern. Georgia has won its first three SEC games by an average of 41-15.
Alabama arrives with its own strengths. The Tide combine a strong run defense with an offense that has scored at least 45 points in every game. Quarterback Keelon Russell is close to a pace that would bring him 4,000 passing yards and 800 non-sack rushing yards, ESPN reported.
Receivers Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks have combined for 728 yards at 17.8 per catch, according to Connelly’s preview. The matchup pits Georgia’s dominant start against an Alabama team he says is improving rapidly.
Weather could complicate the meeting. Connelly wrote that the forecast suggested the effects of Hurricane Isaias might peak earlier Saturday and ease by evening, though the conditions remained a concern for the game.
Other games carry conference stakes
Texas, Georgia and Alabama are the only unbeaten teams left in SEC play, with the conference having played 19 of its 72 league games. The Texas-Oklahoma rivalry is another major fixture, set for 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
Oklahoma’s offense has struggled, with quarterback John Mateer and the Sooners ranking 112th in both yards per play and points per drive, ESPN reported. The team has also dealt with a lengthy injury list and has committed 10 turnovers, compared with about 5.3 it would have expected based on typical fumble-recovery and interception-to-breakup rates.
The Sooners’ defense remains a strength, according to Connelly. That contrast gives the game a clear tension: Oklahoma’s defense must contend with Texas while the offense tries to overcome its poor production and turnover problems.
Connelly also singled out UCLA-Oregon and Nebraska-Indiana as bigger matchups than USC-Penn State, which he said had not lived up to its earlier billing. The week includes tests for North Dakota State and Boise State, Friday games that could clarify Florida State’s rebound hopes and Iowa’s playoff prospects, and a contest that could heat up the race for the ACC’s No. 2 spot.
One individual storyline comes from Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is pursuing a third straight 200-yard game, Connelly wrote. At the smaller-school level, the schedule includes a top-10 matchup in FCS and a top-2 meeting in Division III.
The Georgia-Alabama game is set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
Source: espn.com
