Georgia football seeks first win at Alabama since 2007

ATHENS — There are not many places left in college football that can make No. 2 Georgia look like the challenger.

Tuscaloosa is one of them.

The Bulldogs will arrive at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday undefeated, averaging more points than any team in the country and ranked four spots ahead of Alabama.

ESPN’s Football Power Index still gives Georgia only a 47.3% chance of winning.

Alabama is the favorite because Alabama remains Alabama—and because Tuscaloosa has been a house of horrors for the Bulldogs.

Georgia has not won there since 2007.

That victory came when Matthew Stafford found Mikey Henderson for a 25-yard touchdown on Georgia’s first offensive play of overtime, giving the Bulldogs a 26-23 victory. Mark Richt’s team went on to finish 11-2 and win the Sugar Bowl.

Since then, Georgia has played at Alabama three times and lost all three. The Bulldogs fell 41-34 in their most recent visit in 2024 after rallying from a 30-7 halftime deficit to briefly take the lead.

Carson Beck’s 67-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell put Georgia ahead 34-33 with 2:31 remaining. One play later, Alabama answered with Jalen Milroe’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Williams.

The comeback was magnificent. The ending was familiar.

Alabama leads the all-time series 45-27-4 and owns a 9-2 advantage in games played in Tuscaloosa. Georgia is 2-7 against the Crimson Tide under Kirby Smart.

The Bulldogs did remove at least some of the weight from the rivalry in December, beating Alabama 28-7 in the 2025 SEC Championship Game. Georgia shut out the Crimson Tide through three quarters and won its second consecutive conference championship.

That result proved Georgia can beat Alabama.

Saturday offers a chance to prove it can do so in Tuscaloosa.

Smart is not interested in discussing ghosts, percentages or what happened 19 years ago. His attention is on an Alabama team that has scored at least 45 points in every game this season.

“They have an extremely physical football team,” Smart said. “They’re playing really high-level football right now. I was super impressed with both sides of the ball and special teams.”

Both teams are 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC. Georgia leads the conference with 51.4 points per game. Alabama ranks second at 49.6.

Georgia has outscored its opponents 257-67 and has not trailed this season. Alabama has outscored its opponents 248-104.

Something will have to give.

Much of Smart’s concern begins with Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell, a gifted young passer who has become more comfortable with each start.

“I knew he was an elite player, probably the best quarterback in the country coming out,” Smart said. “He’s unbelievable—savvy, arm strength, pocket awareness.”

Russell’s mobility adds another complication, though Smart cautioned against describing him as simply a running quarterback.

“He doesn’t run unless he has to, and he can,” Smart said. “He scrambles to throw, scrambles to run. He’s accurate and smart. He’s very talented.”

Georgia counters with Gunner Stockton, a fifth-year quarterback who has started 20 college games and owns a 17-3 record. Stockton ranks third nationally in passing efficiency and has completed 75.5% of his passes for 1,049 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception this season.

Smart believes experience matters, particularly in an environment expected to include more than 100,000 fans and the ESPN “College GameDay” crew.

“I’m certainly very happy and pleased with where Gunner is as a player,” Smart said. “I think experience helps. I think experience matters. I think how people play around you matters.”

Stockton will also have something Georgia did not consistently possess last season: continuity in front of him. Earnest Greene III, Dontrell Glover, Drew Bobo, Zykie Helton and Juan Gaston Jr. have started every game along the offensive line.

They will face their greatest challenge yet against an Alabama defensive front Smart described with two words: “Size and physicality.”

Georgia has beaten Alabama for a national championship. It has beaten Alabama for an SEC championship.

But this is Tuscaloosa, where the Bulldogs have won only twice and not since Stafford’s overtime pass landed in Henderson’s hands 19 years ago.

Saturday night offers Georgia a chance to show that one of the final barriers from Alabama’s long reign no longer stands.