Even as conference realignment and expansion changes so much in college football, some things remain constant no matter the circumstances.
It has been over a decade since the SEC championship game didn't feature one or both of Alabama and Georgia. This season's matchup will fall under the "both" category, marking the fourth time in ten years that the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs have met in Atlanta to determine the conference's champion. It has also resurfaced a fascinating trend: Georgia coach Kirby Smart's struggles to overcome Alabama.
Smart was previously the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator, and his former employer has been a persistent thorn in his side at his new gig, even as his Georgia program has rocketed to the envy of the college football world.
Smart has won over 100 games, three SEC championships and two national titles against all manner of opponents and opposing coaches. But he's just 1-7 against the Crimson Tide.
Poor records against a rival aren't insurmountable -- just last weekend Ohio State coach Ryan Day exorcised some demons against Michigan. But with Georgia and Alabama set to square off for the second time this year and for the ninth time in Smart's tenure, the strange numbers behind Smart's teams' struggles bear examination.
75.5: The remarkable gap in Kirby Smart's win rate against the Crimson Tide compared to all other opponents.
No currently active coach in college football has won games at a clip equivalent to Smart, who boasts a gaudy 116-20 record as head coach of the Bulldogs. His sport-best winning percentage, however, gets even better if one factors out his eight career matchups against Alabama -- going from 85.3% to 89.8%. Smart's win rate against the Crimson Tide sits at just 14.3%, a staggering falloff from his sublime record against other opponents.
For scale, Smart has more than half as many losses against Alabama (7) as he does against all other opponents combined (13).
33: Georgia's home winning streak length before this season's matchup with Alabama.
Prior to this fall, the Bulldogs hadn't lost at Sanford Stadium in six years, a streak of success between the hedges that dated back to October 2019.
That streak was snapped in Week 5, when Alabama came to Athens. The Crimson Tide built up a 24-14 lead in the first half, then kept the Bulldogs at bay over the final 30 minutes to secure a 24-21 win on the road. The victory moved Kalen DeBoer to 2-0 against Smart in his two years as coach in Tuscaloosa.
31.6: Points per game scored by Alabama across eight meetings with Smart.
The Bulldogs' defense under Smart has come to be known as one of the sport's most fearsome, but the Crimson Tide have been able to get theirs against Georgia on multiple occasions. Against Alabama, Smart's defenses have allowed an average of 440.4 yards per game -- compared to an average of 291.2 against all other opponents.
Under Smart, the Bulldogs have allowed an opponent to score 35 or more points just 14 times across ten seasons. The Crimson Tide have accounted for four of those instances -- no other program is responsible for more than two.
8.8: The point-per-game drop-off for the Bulldogs' offense against the Crimson Tide vs. other opponents.
It's not just Georgia's defense that has had struggles against Alabama under Smart. The Bulldogs' offense has taken their lumps as well. Against Alabama, Georgia has averaged 26.4 points per game, compared to 35.2 points per game against all other opponents. Other metrics paint a similar picture, including a rise in turnovers per drive (14% against the Crimson Tide vs. 9% against all other opponents) and a drop-off in drive score percentage (34% against Alabama vs. 49% against all other opponents)
3: SEC championship game defeats.
This particular stage of the season has proven especially difficult for Smart ... but only when the Crimson Tide are on the opposing sideline. Georgia has become an SEC championship game staple under Smart, with this year's conference title game being the Bulldogs' eighth -- and fifth consecutive -- trip to Atlanta under his tutelage.
Georgia is 3-1 in SEC championship games against opponents not named Alabama in Smart's tenure. But when the Crimson Tide roll into Atlanta? The Bulldogs are 0-3.
1: Big exception.
There is, of course, one important caveat to note when discussing Smart's 1-7 record against Alabama. The stage that lone win came on could not have been bigger.
Smart's one victory was in the national championship game for the 2021 season, breaking the Bulldogs' four-decade title drought. Though the Crimson Tide did take down Georgia in the 2018 national title game, Smart still still holds a better winning percentage against Alabama in national championships (50%) than on any other stage (0%).
ESPN Research contributed to this story.
