So, yeah, I hear you: Since this Alabama bunch hasn’t been nearly as powerful as the one that ripped Ohio State 52-24 last season for the national championship, and since Georgia has been spectacular for most of this season, Smart should end his losing streak against Saban. Before Auburn, the Tide defeated an LSU team with six losses by six points, and they handled an Arkansas team with four losses by seven points, but they did hammer New Mexico State by 53 points.
Speaking of which, Alabama has spent this month squeaking past other shaky opponents. Auburn is Alabama’s top rival, but Auburn also is mediocre at 6-6. Take Saturday in Auburn, Alabama, where the Tide survived 24-22 after a four overtime thriller in the Iron Bowl. In the 1950s Kirby created the Challengers of the Unknown for National Comics (DC), and also worked on the strip Sky Masters of the Space Force. Jack is best known for creating Captain America in the 40s with Joe Simon with Timely Comics. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 12-0, and against pitiful Georgia Tech (3-9), they stayed among the elite in history, with another stifling defensive performance, and with the continuation of a highly efficient offense, and with the moment-by-moment ruthlessness that pushes teams into the legendary category. Jack Kirby is widely regarded as the King of Comics, with a career in comics that started in the late 1930s until his passing in 1994. That would shake up the rankings, but I hear you: Georgia showed no signs of slipping after crushing (ahem) in-state rival Georgia Tech 45-0 Saturday during a (ahem) road game at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta that resembled a home game for the Bulldogs with Georgia red everywhere.
If the past is indicative of the future, that Saban-Smart mark will jump to 4-0 next week when CFP selection committee members do their final seeding of teams. Georgia had Smart, a former Saban assistant coach, and until Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher defeated Alabama down the stretch this season in October during a home game, Saban was 24-0 against his former assistant coaches. Still, Alabama’s eventual 41-24 bashing of the Bulldogs confirmed what was obvious after their previous two matchups: Both teams possessed more talent than just about anybody else in the country, but Alabama had Saban, owner of seven national championship rings, and Georgia didn’t. Only regular-season pride was on the line in October 2020, when Georgia traveled to Tuscaloosa.