How Rare Alabama's SEC Opener against No. 2 Georgia Is

This Saturday will be the first time in over a decade that the Crimson Tide's first SEC game of the season is against a top-10 team.

Bryant-Denny Stadium lit up with red lights / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Starting in the mid 1970s until the early 2000s, with a few exceptions, Alabama football usually opened its SEC slate each season against Vanderbilt. Traditionally, Alabama is at the top of the conference while Vanderbilt is at the bottom. The Crimson Tide holds a 63-18-4 advantage over the Commodores, and Vanderbilt has the worst all-time winning percentage in the SEC.

This gave Alabama the opportunity to ease into the SEC schedule most seasons. Even Nick Saban's first SEC opponent as Crimson Tide head coach was Vanderbilt in 2007.

The 2024 Crimson Tide team, currently ranked No. 4, will face Vanderbilt next weekend in Nashville on Oct. 5, but not before Kalen DeBoer coaches in his first ever SEC game against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday night inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

It will be the first time Alabama has opened conference play against a team in the top 10 since 2013 when the Crimson Tide played at No. 6 Texas A&M.

"I actually didn’t know that," DeBoer said Monday. "Yeah, welcome to the SEC, right? But that’s going to happen throughout the season. There’s going to be a lot of great teams that we’re going to face. Being at your best that’s what’s required of me, that’s what’s required of all of us. It comes down to just going to work, rolling up your sleeves and enjoying all that that comes with these big challenges that are in front of you each and every week."

During Saban's 17-year tenure as Alabama head coach, his team played an unranked opponent in the SEC opener 10 of 17 times. The Tide only opened conference play with a team in the top 10 twice (at No. 10 Arkansas in 2010 and at Texas A&M in 2013.)

There have only been two other times Alabama has begun SEC play against a top-five team, and you have to go back nearly a century when the Crimson Tide played No. 5 Tennessee in its SEC openers in 1939 and 1940.

Alabama spent the majority of Saban's tenure near the top of the polls, often in the No. 1 spot. So the Crimson Tide played in plenty of top-five matchups, but most of them occurred in the postseason. Saban had a 26-9 record against top-five teams with a 24-7 record in which both teams were ranked inside the top-five.

Only eight times during Saban's Alabama career did the Crimson Tide play in a regular season game that featured both teams inside the top-five, and DeBoer's first SEC game as Alabama head coach is a top-five matchup.

"For us it's just really honing in and trying to simplify it down to what you really have control of and it's making sure our energy, attitude and effort is on point," DeBoer said. "And that we're going to continue to fight, it's the battle that's going to happen on Saturday, but that our preparation is 100% where it needs to be. That's what's going to give you the confidence, that's what's going to give you the belief and trust when it comes to those big moments that are going to present themselves on Saturdays." 

However, this is not the first time that Alabama has played Georgia to open conference play. It happened every year from 1959-1965 and in 1985.

Alabama's veteran players, like captain left guard Tyler Booker, are very familiar with the Bulldogs and the challenges Kirby Smart's team presents. But they're embracing the challenge of opening SEC play against such a strong opponent.

"Going into SEC play’s always fun, and like you said, there’s no easing into it with this game," Booker said. "But a common theme through SEC play is there’s a potential for it to be a dog fight every single game, so you just have to make sure that your week of preparation top tier. You also have to make sure that you’re ready for what the SEC presents. The SEC is a physical conference. It’s a hard-nosed conference. It’s everything that you want out of a football conference. So just playing in the SEC, you’ve got to be ready for that.”

See also: How to Watch: No. 4 Alabama vs No. 2 Georgia; Week 5 College Football TV Schedule

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