Nick Saban breaks down Georgia's offense under Todd Monken

When Georgia faced Alabama last year, the Bulldogs averaged 32.3 points and 424.1 points per game. This season, Georgia averages 40.7 points and 442.5 yards per contest.

Things are looking better for the Bulldogs under second-year offensive coordinator and former Southern Mississippi head coach Todd Monken. It could make Alabama coach Nick Saban’s job interesting, too.

In fact, Saturday’s SEC Championship will feature the top two scoring offenses in the SEC. Alabama is the only team in front of Georgia, averaging 42.7 points per game this season.

Saban talked about Georgia’s offensive success and what Monken has brought to the table.

“They’re very good offensively,” Saban said on Thursday’s SEC Championship Game teleconference. “They’ve got a lot of diversity in what they do. They do a good job of utilizing the personnel that they have in various positions. They’ve got a lot of good skill players, a lot of good running backs.

“I think he does a good job of quarterback efficiency in terms of what he does, the system that he has, and those guys have responded very well at the quarterback position as well.”

That said, Saban said he doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary on film. He pointed to one difference from last year’s team: Growth.

“I just think it’s not a different offense,” Saban said. “I just think it’s an offense that is a very difficult offense to defend but one that they just do a really good job of executing. You can tell that there’s been seasoning with the players and their knowledge and experience with what’s expected of them has really improved as they’ve grown in the offense. They’re very, very good in terms of what they do.

“I think it’s a good system. It’s well-implemented, and the players do a really good job of executing it.”

Previewing No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game

It’ll be strength vs. strength on Saturday. Georgia has the best defense in the country, holding teams to an FBS-best 6.9 points per game and 229.7 total yards per game this season. Meanwhile, Alabama is not only the best scoring offense in the SEC, but the Crimson Tide rank seventh in the nation with 492.2 total yards per contest.

The Crimson Tide is also in a unique position for the game: They’re an underdog. That’s somewhat uncharted territory for Alabama, which was favored in its last 92 games.

Georgia is a 6.5-point favorite for the SEC Championship, which kicks off Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on CBS.