There was no avoiding it. No. 1 Alabama will face No. 4 Georgia in a rematch of last seasonās national title game as the two teams meet again for the SEC Championship Game on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT inside of Atlantaās Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Crimson Tide is vying for its 27th SEC title and is currently a 13-point favorite over the Bulldogs, according to VegasInsider.com. A victory Saturday would clinch a fifth straight trip to the College Football Playoff for Alabama, while a loss would leave the Crimson Tideās fate up to the committee for a second straight season. Here are five questions to consider leading up to the game.
Will Terrell Lewis play?
For a second straight year, Terrell Lewis appears set to defy an injury prognosis and join Alabama in time for a playoff run. The outside linebacker was back at practice this week for the first time since undergoing an ACL surgery a little less than five months ago.
Lewis was seen participating in drills with a brace on his right knee during media viewing periods on Monday and Tuesday. He participated in footwork drills but seemed a bit limited when the outside linebacker worked on coverage drills.
The typical recovery time for an ACL injury is anywhere from six to seven months. However, if Lewis suits up against Georgia, it wonāt be the first time heās returned sooner than expected.
The resilient linebacker was expected to miss the remainder of the season last year after tearing a ligament in his elbow during the opener against Florida State. Instead, he recovered in time to play in the Crimson Tideās final three games, including his first career start against Georgia in the national championship game where he tallied a career-high seven tackles and a crucial sack in overtime.
Lewis teased toward a possible early return over social media Sunday when he posted a picture of his sack during last seasonās national championship game with a message reading, āDebating if I should pick up where I left offā¦ā
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Due to the NCAAās new redshirt policy, Lewis, a junior, would be able to play in the remainder of Alabamaās games this season and still redshirt.
While Lewisā return to practice this week is an encouraging sign, itās still unknown if he will be ready. Alabama head coach Nick Saban should provide more insight on that during his next news conference Wednesday evening.
Can Alabama get over its recent slow starts?
Itās hard to find many things wrong with Alabama. The Crimson Tide won all 12 of its games this season by at least 21 points, a feat last accomplished by Yale in 1888. Alabama has also piled up at least 500 yards in 11 of its 12 games while scoring 50 or more points eight times.
However, if thereās one concerning trend heading into Saturdayās game, itās been two straight slow starts from the offense. Two weeks ago, Alabama headed into the half tied at 10 with FCS foe The Citadel. Last week, the Crimson Tide experienced similar troubles against Auburn as it held onto a slim 17-14 lead at the break. Both times, the offense woke up in time to blow out its opposition in the second half. Although, Alabama might not be able to survive another lackluster start this week against a tough Georgia team.
āYou always want to make sure your team is physically fresh,ā Saban said. āBut the more difficult thing to determine is, are the players getting mentally tired? And I think that you want to make sure that both parts of that equation are in order, to be fresh and ready to go. I canāt say 100 percent for sure if thatās had anything to do with how weāve started games the last two games.
āIf we were physically tired we wouldnāt have been able to come out and play so well in the second half. But if we were mentally tired, maybe that affected our preparation going into the game, which affected how we started. And I would say in this last game, based on the mental errors we made and the fundamental execution not being as sharp as it needed to be, that may have been the case.ā
How will Alabama handle Maydenās absence?
Things got testy Monday when Saban was asked about his plans to replace suspended defensive back Jared Mayden, who will miss the first half Saturday after getting flagged for targeting in the third quarter of last weekās Iron Bowl.
āI donāt know, but as soon as I get out of here, Iāll call (Georgia head Coach) Kirby (Smart) and tell him exactly what weāre going to do, so theyāll be able to prepare for that,ā Saban said sarcastically. āIām not willing to share what weāre going to do right now. But Iāll call him, then you call him and ask him and he can tell you, OK?ā
Mayden plays safety in Alabamaās dime formation and was replaced by redshirt junior Keaton Anderson after leaving the game against Auburn. Alabama usually practices its dime package on Wednesdays which should provide more insight into who it plans to use Saturday. Tuesday, the secondary worked out of the nickel package as Mayden played at Star with the second-team.
āWeāll have to evaluate that and see where we go from there,ā Saban said during a teleconference Sunday. āYouāve got to do what you prepared for relative to backups when you go into a game. We have a week here to decide what the best thing is for us to do there, but Keaton did a pretty good job in the game.ā
What if Fromm had remained committed to Alabama?
If thereās one thing that gets on Sabanās nerves more than questions about his game plan itās hypothetical questions. However, at the risk of riling up the head coach again, hereās one too juicy not to consider: What if Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm had remained committed to Alabama?
Fromm committed to Alabama in October of 2015 before flipping his commitment to Georgia the following March. Two months later, the Crimson Tide received a commitment from current starter Tua Tagovailoa. Monday, Tagovailoa was asked if he would have still chosen the Crimson Tide had Fromm still been committed.
āHonestly, Iām not too sure,ā Tagovailoa said on a teleconference. āI didnāt know that Jake was committed here before I committed. And my father kind of implied that we should come here.
āI thought it would be easier for us as a family to stay on the West Coast, but it was more so a family decision to come to the university, and itās one of those things where it's cultural. So, itās what my parents wanted more than what I wanted, you know? And itās worked out great.ā
Letās say Fromm was suiting up for Alabama this week. Would he have won the job over Jalen Hurts this season? And what about Georgia? Would freshman Justin Fields be the Bulldogsā quarterback Saturday, or would it be junior Jacob Eason, who transferred to Washington this year after being beat out by Fromm?
Fortunately, none of the above scenarios matter now as both teams are quite content with their starting quarterbacks.
Can Alabama stop the run?
Quinnen Williams played in just 12 snaps in last yearās championship game. He spent the rest of the game watching as defensive tackle DaāRon Payne earned defensive MVP honors, stuffing Georgiaās rushing attack while fighting off double teams to record six tackles.
āI really saw how he just played physical, how he played explosive,ā Williams said. āJust the same message came from Coach Saban from last yearās game to this game. Itās going to be a physical game.ā
This week Williams will be relied on to fill Payneās shoes as he and the Alabama defensive line are tasked with stopping a Georgia offense that ranks No. 11 in the nation, averaging 259.83 yards per game. The Bulldogs feature two talented running backs in DāAndre Swift and Elijah Holyfield, who have combined for 1,858 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground this season.
āWeāre going to have to be dominant up front as a defensive line and set a new line of scrimmage,ā Williams said. ā(Payne) did that role, so I expect everybody on the defensive line to do the same thing, myself as well.ā
