Alabama football coach Nick Saban seldom utters a negative word about an opponent at his week-opening press conference. It was no different this Monday when he talked about Georgia.
Some teams only have so many strengths for Saban to discuss, though. Not so much for the No. 1 Bulldogs. Saban had no shortage of talking points to highlight about Alabama’s next opponent.
“This is a complete team and it’ll be a tremendous challenge for our players to play well,” Saban said.
No. 1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0 SEC) will face No. 2 Alabama (11-1, 7-1) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The SEC Championship Game will be broadcast on CBS.
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First, Saban covered Georgia’s defense and its No. 1 status. The Bulldogs have allowed only 6.92 points per game, the best in the country. Next is Clemson, allowing 15.
“They’ve got a lot of good players on defense,” Saban said. “They’ve created a lot of negative plays, sacks, pressuring the quarterback, tackles for loss.”
The Bulldogs average 3.42 sacks per game, tied for fifth in the country. For reference, Alabama is third with 3.58.
Nose tackle Jordan Davis only has two of those sacks, but he has been at the forefront of discussions about Georgia’s vaunted defense. Saban said Sunday that Davis has great size, power and good initial, short-area quickness. All of that combined makes him a force at pushing the pocket.
“I think the guy is one of the most dominant players in college football,” Saban said. “Any defensive lineman, you can look at a lot of things, but the No. 1 thing is: How hard are they to block? And he’s really hard to block.”
The Georgia offense isn’t No. 1 in the country in scoring; Ohio State earned that spot. But the Bulldogs are “very, very efficient,” Saban said.
Georgia is averaging 40.7 points per game, ranked No. 6 right behind No. 5 Alabama (42.7).
Saban said quarterback Stetson Bennett has played outstanding football for the Bulldogs. Saban also highlighted the two “great running backs” Georgia has. Zamir White and James Cook have combined for 1,272 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“They’re able to run the ball with great balance,” Saban said.
He also mentioned freshman tight end Brock Bowers specifically. Bowers is Georgia’s leading receiver with 37 receptions for 652 yards and 10 touchdowns. Every game in which Bowers has caught a touchdown, he catches at least two.
“A very athletic guy who creates a lot of mismatch issues for you in the passing game,” Saban said.
Overall, Saban said Kirby Smart has a mature team with plenty of competitive character.
“They’ve been the most consistent team all year long in terms of how they’ve sustained their performance and played at a high level, dominated the competition just about every game that they’ve played,” Saban said.
Contact Alabama reporter Nick Kelly: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What stands out to Nick Saban about the Georgia Bulldogs