Since the Alabama Crimson Tide beat Georgia in September, both teams have shown improvement. Alabama has improved the most in its defensive front seven. Georgia has improved the most in its secondary, with their cornerback duo of Ellis Robinson and Daylen Everette becoming one of the SEC's best. Season stats show that the Bulldogs are the worst SEC football team in sacking opposing quarterbacks. But the Bulldogs have improved at pressuring quarterbacks.
Both teams have also experienced some regression at quarterback. Ty Simpson has shown the most evidence of regression, but against Auburn, Simpson more than made up for weaknesses with a strong performance. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has become somewhat interception-prone. He has five interceptions this season, but four of them have come in Georgia's most recent five games.
The fanbases can debate which team is the most talented, but with one exception, the offensive and defensive units are comparable. The exception is special teams, where the Bulldogs have a big placekicking advantage. Peyton Woodring has made 93.8% of his field goal attempts. Conor Talty has made 65%.
Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs Injuries
Early this week, I concluded that despite the Crimson Tide having more injuries than Georgia, Alabama had an injury advantage. The reason was that Georgia losing its starting center, Drew Bobo, was a major blow to the Bulldogs' offense. No Georgia backup comes close to matching Bobo's combination of skill, leadership, and experience.
The situation has changed. Alabama now has 11 players on its injury report. A surprise 'Out' for Alabama was LT Overton. The key defender leads Alabama's defensive linemen in every key stat. Kane Wommack has solid backups behind Overton, but if he is truly out for Saturday, the Crimson Tide defense will be diminished.
Alabama's six other players listed as out for the SEC Championship Game is not a major problem. Most of them have been out for weeks. A somewhat pleasant surprise is that Jam Miller and Josh Cuevas were listed as questionable. Kalen DeBoer had previously said he did not expect Cuevas to play. If Miller is cleared to play, it is doubtful he can be near 100%. Another questionable player is left guard Kam Dewberry. No Dewberry or less than 100% Dewberry would be a blow to the Tide's offensive line.
The injury situation may improve for Alabama, but three days from the big game, Georgia now has an injury advantage.