Georgia head coach Kirby Smart (right) and Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer shake hands after Alabama beat Georgia in an NCAA football game at Sanford Stadium, Saturday, September 27, 2025, in Athens. Alabama won 24-21 over Georgia. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)
ATHENS — Georgia is back in the SEC championship game for a fifth consecutive season.
And the Bulldogs will be facing a familiar foe, as Alabama punched its ticket following a 27-20 win over Auburn on Saturday.
This will be the third time in the last five seasons that Georgia and Alabama have met in the SEC championship game. Alabama won the previous two in 2021 and 2023.
The Crimson Tide is 4-0 all-time against Georgia in the SEC championship game. The venue for Saturday’s game is Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Georgia just beat Georgia Tech 16-9.
Alabama has owned Georgia in the last two decades. Kirby Smart is 1-7 against Alabama, with the lone win coming in the 2022 National Championship Game. That game was played in Indianapolis.
The two teams met earlier this season, with Alabama winning 24-21 in Athens. That victory snapped Georgia’s 33-game home winning streak, which had stretched back to the 2019 season.
There were arguments made by some that Georgia should not want to play in this game. Just last season, the Bulldogs saw starting quarterback Carson Beck suffer a season-ending elbow injury in a win in the SEC championship game against Texas. That contributed to Georgia losing its quarterfinal game against Notre Dame.
Yet Smart wanted to hear no such suggestions after his team beat Georgia Tech on Friday. The Georgia coach gave a fiery response when asked about playing in the SEC championship game.
“If you worry about injury risk, we won’t practice next week,” Smart said. “So you live your life scared of injuries, you know what you get? A very scared team. There’s also an opportunity to win an SEC championship. Does that matter? Does anybody care about that anymore? I mean, I grew up thinking that was the greatest game in the world and just different from everybody else.”
Georgia did see center Drew Bobo exit Friday’s win over Georgia Tech with a foot injury. He was replaced by Malachi Tolliver at center.
Winning the SEC championship game this season does not guarantee that Georgia will get a first-round bye. The five highest-ranked conference champions get automatic bids into the field. The four highest-ranked teams get the first-round byes.
With No. 3 Texas A&M losing this week, Georgia is likely to move up in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings. Alabama is No. 10 in the current rankings, but there is some thought that winning the SEC championship game could keep them in contention for a first-round bye.
If Georgia were to fall out of the top four, it would play in the first round games, which are set to take place on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20.
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