Alabama Football: Georgia may not be the beast in the East in 2018
By Ronald Evans
Alabama football fans know it is never too early to wonder about the opponent in the SEC Championship game. The top team to consider is Georgia.
College football fans not enmeshed in the culture of Alabama football sometimes see Tide fans as arrogant and brazen in our annual expectations. Memories of seasons without championships do little to blunt our assumptions.
As Alabama football fans, we know victories will be in the double digits. Two-loss seasons are viewed as failures. Winning an SEC Championship is never enough. To the extent we have been spoiled by success, so be it. Going back to Wallace Wade, championships are our legacy.
So without apology let’s jump past the regular season and the SEC West Division the Tide is sure to win. There are three SEC East teams with any chance of meeting the Tide in Atlanta in December. Georgia, Florida, South Carolina are the top teams. Missouri is a trendy pick to make some noise based on Drew Lock and they get Georgia in Columbia. But the Tigers will not be strong defensively and they must travel to South Carolina and Florida.
Most prognosticators are picking the Bulldogs to win the East. Kirby has offensive talent on his roster and he has recruited well. The Bulldogs also have lots of holes to fill on defense, returning only four starters. None of the linebackers are up to the level of the departed Roquan Smith.
Kirby’s defensive line will not be as deep as 2017 and therefore more vulnerable to fatigue and injury depletion. Unlike Alabama football, a true freshman, Tyson Campbell, will be needed at cornerback. Patrick Surtain Jr. may win a starting job in Tuscaloosa but it is more likely to be at Star.
The Bulldogs defense will again be talented but it will be inexperienced. Cornerback, Deandre Baker, safety J.R. Reed and defensive lineman, Jonathan Ledbetter are great players. Even so, Kirby’s defense will take a step back in 2018.
The Bulldogs running game should not suffer much, even with the exits of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Jake Fromm is very good. The offensive line could be better than last season.
The Bulldogs can win the East with a more potent offense and somewhat weaker defense. The other two contenders have more weaknesses. South Carolina’s roster is not equal to Georgia. It will probably take Dan Mullen a year to shore up the Gators offense.
Kirby Smart’s plan of replicating all things Saban may have one flaw. For a coach to win like Nick, he needs to be at least as smart as Nick. No one is calling Kirby a dummy but ask this question. Among the three SEC East contenders where does Kirby rank in knowing how to be a head coach? Most anyone, not a Bulldog, would rank Kirby behind Mullen and Muschamp.
The head coach experience gap may not be a deciding factor or it might be enough to determine the SEC East champion.
Next: 10 Crimson Tide questions for 2018
The inexperienced Georgia defense will be most vulnerable in a week two game at South Carolina. Jake Bentley and Deebo Samuel could present serious problems for the Bulldogs.