Rece Davis answers if Georgia game is a must-win for Alabama

For the first time since 2015, No. 17 Alabama travels to Athens for a monstrous SEC showdown against No. 5 Georgia. The Crimson Tide head into the game with a 2-1 record, riding a two-game winning streak after dropping their season opener to Florida State. Georgia is 3-0 with a marquee road victory over No. 15 Tennessee before their bye week.

This game holds massive implications for both the SEC Championship Game (which either Alabama or Georgia has won 11 of the past 13 years) and the College Football Playoff. A win for the Crimson Tide would put them right back in the thick of the CFP race, while a loss would make things extremely difficult. There is a little less pressure on the Bulldogs, but opening SEC play with back-to-back wins over Top 20 teams would be a major resume boost for Kirby Smart‘s team.

Ahead of this weekend’s game, ESPN‘s Rece Davis hopped on the ‘College Gameday Podcast.’ There, he discussed whether or not this is a must-win game for Alabama.

“Is this a must-win for Alabama?” Davis asked. “The answer is no. It’s not a must-win for Alabama. But you know what it is from a perception standpoint? It is a must compete until the final whistle and at least have a chance to win. And I don’t mean final drive chance to win, I mean competing until the final whistle of the game and being in the game throughout. That’s what it is a must for Alabama.

“And it’s not even a must-win for Georgia. It will be a punch in the gut to Georgia if it doesn’t win at home, but it’s not a must-win. There’s a lot of ball in front of them and they’ve got a lot of games at home. Georgia needs it because you need to win every game, but this is not an elimination game for either. Certainly closer for Alabama, but it would still be just one conference loss.”

Last season marked the first Alabama–Georgia matchup in the post-Nick Saban era. Kalen DeBoer‘s Crimson Tide held off the ‘Dawgs 41-34 thanks to an unbelievable 75-yard passing touchdown from Jalen Milroe to Ryan Williams with just 2:18 remaining. The two programs went in opposite directions after that game, however, as Alabama is just 7-5 and Georgia is 11-2 in the 13 games since.

Kickoff for this weekend’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ABC.