Dawg Tracks: 15 thoughts heading into Georgia-Alabama

Here is this week’s Dawg Tracks column with Georgia preparing to face Alabama this Saturday.

1. Expect the unexpected. Every week brings something unique and this game will be no different.

2. Conventional wisdom suggests a shootout with how Georgia’s defense played last week. Football doesn’t often adhere to conventional wisdom.

3. For as bad as it was on defense during the first two quarters of last year’s Georgia-Alabama game, the Bulldogs did a much better job in the second half until the Ryan Williams miracle. As a result, Georgia’s defensive adjustments clearly resonated with the teams Alabama faced afterward.

4. Since Alabama’s win over Georgia, the Crimson Tide are 7-5 with losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida State. While Alabama scored 35 points in the Vanderbilt loss, it has averaged only 12.5 points in the other four defeats and didn’t scored more than 17 in those contests.

5. Kirby Smart called Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson the “hottest quarterback” in college football. Since completing only 53.5 percent of his throws against Florida State, Simpson has gone 41-of-46 for 608 touchdowns and seven touchdowns.

6. Simpson has yet to throw an interception in three games. Georgia has three picks this season. Like most football games, turnover margin will likely be a decider in the outcome of this game.

7. Alabama hasn’t had much success running the ball this season. Its leading rusher is Kevin Riley, who has 23 carries for 120 yards. As a team against Wisconsin, the Crimson Tide ran the ball 22 times for only 72 yards. Against Florida State, Alabama ran the ball 29 times for 87 yards. These numbers do not reflect the rushing output we’ve come to expect from the Crimson Tide.

8. That said, the Crimson Tide are set to welcome running back Jam Miller back to the lineup this week. Miller ran for 668 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. Against Georgia, however, Miller totaled five carries for 8 yards. In fact, only Miller and Justice Haynes, now with Michigan, carried the ball as running backs and they combined for 11 carries and 43 yards. Quarterback Jalen Milroe proved mostly unstoppable as a runner, totaling 116 yards on the ground. Although Simpson is mobile, he’s not the athlete Milroe was at the position.

9. Alabama may not care about the run if Simpson remains as accurate as he’s been. But if the Tide exhibit zero threat to run the ball and Simpson isn’t connecting with his receiving targets early, this game may swing in Georgia’s favor rather quickly.

10. Football is a copycat sport. With Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos handling 16 carries for 78 rushing yards and a touchdown against Alabama, you have to wonder if Gunner Stockton will see even more quarterback run opportunities this Saturday.

11. Stockton has spread the ball to the skill position players quite a bit. One wideout who hasn’t been in the mix much is Dillon Bell. In three games, Bell has seven catches for 21 yards with a long reception of 10. However, could this be Bell’s 2025 breakout? A year ago against Alabama he had five catches for 100 yards with a 67-yard touchdown reception. He also ran in a 3-yard touchdown.

12. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Colbie Young have a big game. Young has been Georgia’s most consistent receiver thus far, catching 13 passes for 179 yards. In last year’s meeting against the Tide, Young posted three receptions for 57 yards.

13. Dwight Phillips Jr. only saw five carries against Tennessee. He turned those opportuniteis into 29 yards with a long of 15 before a foot injury sidelined him. Assuming there are no setbacks, Georgia should find ways to get the speedy back more involved in the offense Saturday. He’s averaging 8.5 yards per carry.

14. Georgia didn’t record a sack against Alabama a year ago. The defense has only four sacks in 2025, which includes just one against Tennessee. The Bulldogs will need to find ways to rattle Simpson to force him into some inaccurate throws.

15. The magic number for Georgia’s defense is 25. Since 1994, Alabama is 11-4 against Georgia and has scored at least 26 points in each of the 11 wins. In Georgia’s four victories, the defense held Alabama to 25 points or less.

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