Georgia Football Could Return to No. 1 After Beating Alabama

Oct 10, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is interviewed after a win against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images Georgia exorcised some demons Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.The second-ranked Bulldogs had lost five straight regular-season games against Alabama before coming away with a 20-17 win over the sixth-ranked Crimson Tide.The Southeastern Conference rivalry hasn’t been entirely that one-sided. Georgia won the SEC championship game over Alabama last December and notably won its first national title since 1980 with its 33-18 win over the Crimson Tide in the national championship game at the end of the 2021 season.But a series that had been quite one-sided -- Alabama won 10 of 11 games against Georgia between 2008-25, including regular-season games each of the last two seasons -- may finally be fully turning in the other direction.Kirby Smart, who was in his first season as Alabama’s defensive backs coach the last time Georgia won at Alabama in 2007, downplayed how much ending that drought meant. But some of his postgame actions may say otherwise.“I don’t judge my happiness or success on how we play Bama,” Smart said after the win. “I’ve got a lot of respect for this place.”This win was an impressive display of the machine that Smart has built in Athens.Gunner Stockton, who may be one of the most underappreciated players in the country, completed 18 of 22 passes for 249 yards, a touchdown and an interception. At the halfway point of the regular season, he’s completed 76.6% of his passes for 1,298 yards, 14 touchdowns and two picks.Smart’s year-in-and-year-out elite-level recruiting also paid off on both sides of the ball. With top running backs Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier both sidelined, Dwight “Peanut” Phillips Jr., a former four-star prospect casually waiting his turn in the wings, rose to the occasion with a career-high 120 rushing yards.“What a great kid, man. This Dwight Phillips, man, y’all don’t know how special this kid is,” Smart said. “He ain’t complained one time since being here, and he’s so tough for his size.”The Georgia defense was its usually stifling self as well. An Alabama offense which entered 10th nationally in yards per play (7.22) was held to 346 yards of offense.Sophomore sensation quarterback Keelon Russell, who had 10 TD passes across the prior three games with a completion percentage above 72% in each of them, completed just 16 of 30 passes (53.3%) for 185 yards and one TD. The Bulldogs also ended Russell’s run of three straight games with a rushing touchdown.With No. 1 Texas losing Saturday, the path is paved for Georgia to return to the top of the polls this week. And after the Bulldogs followed SEC championships with quarterfinal exits in the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons, this may be the team to return Smart to college football’s mountaintop.