In October 2002, Alabama played Georgia in Tuscaloosa. The Bulldogs were favored by 3.5 points. With the Crimson Tide ranked No. 22 and the Bulldogs ranked No. 7, the point spread could have been higher.
Days before the game, Pat Dye, former Auburn Tigers head coach and former Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman, gave the Dawgs a big boost. During Dye's regular call-in to the Paul Finebaum radio show, Dye said, " I don't believe Georgia's man enough to beat Alabama."
Later in the conversation, Dye repeated his assertion, "Alabama is gonna line up and run the football and they're gonna play defense and I don't believe Georgia is man enough to beat that."
Georgia won the game 27-25, and Dye later admitted he had chosen his words to fire up the Bulldogs. He did more than fire up Georgia players; Dye pissed off former players and Georgia fans. Dye no doubt thought the tradeoff was worth it. Reported by the Augusta Chronicle, "Dye called Georgia offensive coordinator Neil Callaway (who was Dye's assistant all 12 seasons at Auburn) and Georgia line coach Rodney Garner (who played for Dye at Auburn)." And told them, " I've done my part. Now y'all do yours."
Does Alabama need a former player to mirror Dye's strategy?
I am confident that the team that wins the trenches Saturday night will win the game. Last December and January, Alabama was not as physically tough as Georgia and Indiana. The 2026 Crimson Tide is better than the 2025 Crimson Tide and is believed to be more physical. Is it physical enough to handle the Bulldogs? In a previous post, I wrote that though I expect Alabama to win, "I am not 100% sure that Alabama's physicality will be tough enough to prevail."
Do Crimson Tide offensive and defensive linemen need a Dye-like boost? Roman Harper could handle the Dye role and state that he isn't sure Alabama is 'man enough' to beat the Bulldogs. Alabama may not need a ploy. Even if it needs one, a scheme like Dye's might not work. That doesn't make the idea any less tempting.
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