Look Ahead: Georgia Gets The Much Anticipated Rematch

The SEC will be guaranteed a third straight national championship, marking the 12th champion over the last 16 seasons. The defending champions Alabama Crimson Tide took care of their business in AT&T Stadium (Dallas, Texas) on Friday afternoon against Cincinnati to give themselves a shot at a repeat.

Friday's performance from Alabama was not the one many are accustomed to, especially after the show Alabama's Bryce Young put on in Atlanta versus Georgia in the SEC title game. Instead, running back Brian Robinson Jr. was the story for the Alabama offense; Robinson rushed for 206 yards on 26 carries, relegating Bryce Young to a more reserved role, completing 17 of 28 passes, with three touchdowns and 181 yards passing.

Georgia's Stetson Bennett, on the other hand, showed out against the Michigan Wolverines. Bennett threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns, completing 20 of his 30 passes. The senior signal-caller of Blackshear, Georgia, started hot, completing his first nine passes and capping off Georgia's first offensive drive with a touchdown pass to Brock Bowers.

Bennett's strong performance received an even stronger boost from Georgia's defense. The Georgia defense that was fresh off giving up 37 points and over 500 yards of offense to Alabama three weeks earlier, returned to form, holding Michigan to eleven points, thanks to three forced turnovers and a limited rushing attack.

After an all-around great performance from Georgia in their semifinal game, the job is still unfinished, as evidenced by Kirby Smart's refusal of a Gatorade bath, as the Georgia sideline began to prepare for post-game celebrations. The sixth-year head coach quickly reminded his players that a rematch with Alabama is on the horizon.

Besides Georgia is in familiar territory, just four years ago Georgia was beginning preparation for a national championship game against Alabama, after Georgia's thrilling two overtime win over Oklahoma. The Tide found themselves victorious, riding the arm of Tua Tagovalioa, and the historic game-changing quarterback switch at halftime that helped Alabama force overtime, where they'd ultimately put Georgia away.

Kirby Smart and Georgia now have a whole week to prepare for their rematch with longtime foe Alabama, where the last time out, Alabama cruised to another SEC Championship, beating Georgia 41-24. It was a colossal disaster on defense, busting an abnormally high amount of coverages, poor tackling, and straight-up getting outcoached.

How will Georgia go about fixing those changes? Your guess is as good as mine, first thing first is fixing the busted coverages and going back to what Georgia knows, something that was on full display in Miami. Everything following that is where the money will be made. Can Georgia slow down the Alabama passing attack enough, to allow its offense to keep pace, or better yet close out a game with a lead?

You Might Also Like:

Join the community

Follow Brooks Austin on Twitter: @BrooksAustinSI

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @BulldogMaven & follow us on Twitter at @BulldogsSI.

Add us as a preferred source on Google