Inside the 'Humble and Hungry' Mindset Alabama is Using to Prepare for Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 6 Alabama football is just five days away from hosting No. 2 Georgia.

President Donald Trump will be in attendance, Nick Saban and ESPN's College GameDay crew will be on the campus quad and probably around 10 million people will be watching the SEC showdown in primetime.

But as Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide begin training and scouting Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs, is the preparation for a top-5 team different from another opponent?

"No, again, I think that's what you want in a team is a team that every game is working to be their best," DeBoer said. "I think our guys, that's really what I appreciate about them. There's data that we've shown — I've spoken about that in the past — there's data that we've shown that if this team continues to get stronger in the weight room, they continue to get faster on the football field — not just on game days but in practice, the way we're running and operating, we move faster and faster.

"That, to me, is indicative of the mindset that they know they're not there. They're staying humble and hungry. The coaching staff is doing a good job of pulling the best out of them. That's us. We understand what Georgia is, but in the end we really try to keep it about us and our progress to move forward. But certainly we have a great challenge this week."

The Crimson Tide had one of its worst performances of the 2025-26 season in a 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Alabama finished with -3 rushing yards and was without multiple key players.

It was just the second time that season, with the other being the previous Oklahoma matchup, that the Alabama defense did not force a turnover. It was the second time UA faced the Bulldogs in 2025, as the Crimson Tide won the first game 24-21 in Athens.

Every program in college football undergoes some major changes from one season to the next, but one constant remains for Georgia in quarterback Gunner Stockton, and DeBoer will have his hands full with him.

Stockton is third in the FBS in completion percentage (75.5). It's the No. 1 mark in the SEC, as he's tied for second in the conference in passing touchdowns with 13 and has thrown just one interception through five games.

Nevertheless, three meetings in two seasons give both programs familiarity with each other, especially since a decent chunk of each coaching staff and general principles have remained the same throughout that span.

"We've seen Gunner Stockton now a number of times, but he keeps getting better," DeBoer said. "... As much as there's new faces maybe at a couple positions, there's a lot of those same faces, and you see the little tweaks and little things that they continue to do to work around their personnel, and get their guys highlighted, the right guys in the right spots, especially on offense. And I think we do a lot of the same things.

"But just, this version, I mean, it's just jumped all over people. I think that's the biggest thing, is they come out of the gate swinging, and so, you've got to be ready for that. And we've got to be ready when the ball is kicked off.”

Kickoff in Bryant-Denny Stadium between Alabama (5-0, 3-0 SEC) and Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC) is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.

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