What Saban said and what (we think) it means: Monday

Reviewing some comments and an attempt at reading between the lines following Nick Saban‘s latest media availabilities.

Saban on status of running back Jase McClellan: “He’s had a little foot injury all year long. He tweaked it in the game. He’ll be day to day this week. I can’t tell you how much progress he’ll make. Probably the next 48 hours will tell us whether he’ll make the kind of progress he needs to be able to practice some and play in the game.”

What we think it means: As we’ve talked about before, November is when depth at the position typically comes into play. A year ago, Jahmyr Gibbs was hobbled down the stretch, leaving McClellan to carry the load in UA’s win at Ole Miss.

After missing time each of the previous two seasons, McClellan worked through his latest issue to reach December. His status heading into the month is uncertain, which brings Roydell Williams, Jam Miller and, perhaps, Justice Haynes more into play.

If McClellan can’t go this week, Williams and Miller complement each other well. Williams showed again last week that he has no problem running in traffic. Meanwhile, Miller has a burst that serves him well on perimeter runs. As for Haynes, his style seems to be a nice mix of Williams and Miller.

With an emphasis on the physicality needed to deal with what’s coming on Saturday, Williams stacks up just fine. Speaking of which, two things that will be important this week: ball security and work in the passing game, both as a receiver and a protector.

Georgia’s front seven will put both of those aspects to the test. To this point, Alabama backs haven’t been prone to putting the ball on the ground. As receivers, other than a McClellan drop against Texas, they’ve answered the bell when called upon in the passing game.

Interestingly enough, neither of the offenses involved this week feature the kind of slam dunk, future NFL backs that they have in the past. To be sure, Georgia’s duo of Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton are quality options. In SEC play, they have combined to average 134.7 rushing yards per game while rushing for 15 scores.

Similar to how Jalen Milroe and Kendrick Law are wildcards for Alabama, though, wide receiver Dillon Bell, tight end Brock Bowers and the UGA quick passing game play large roles as extensions of the running back position. From that standpoint, this version of the Georgia offense is more difficult to defend than some others UA has seen under Saban.

Simply put, if you think Bowers being limited or unable to go this week will take Alabama’s linebackers and safeties off the hook, think again. While it would certainly prove helpful, Auburn did pretty well with less last Saturday. From the front to the back end, UA has to be a lot better than it was its last time out.

Saban on development of left tackle Kadyn Proctor: “We’ve talked about on several occasions him developing confidence in what he’s supposed to do, how he’s supposed to do it, why he’s supposed to do it that way. The improved communication of the offensive line I think has contributed to that development of confidence. I think that’s the one word that when you have success, which he has had more success in recent games, that really helps build confidence and an expectation that you can do things at a high level. And that’s how you prepare. That’s how you go play.”

What we think it means: Coinciding with Proctor’s improvement has been a schedule that was front-loaded with top edge rushers. Not to devalue the strides Proctor has made, but Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Tennessee came and went by the third week of October. Lessons learned from going against the likes of Anthony Hill, Jr., Shemar Turner, Landon Jackson and James Pearce Jr., have served the true freshman well.

Obviously, Georgia will present bigger challenges than did Kentucky, Chattanooga and Auburn (the same can be said when looking at Alabama’s pass rush vs. Georgia’s protection, by the way). While Mykel Williams is an NFL talent, the Bulldogs haven’t gotten big pass rush numbers from an edge the last two seasons. Proctor being able to take care of business this week would allow the Alabama offense to get more guys out in the route while also providing Milroe with more room to operate.

Saban on preparing for an injured Bowers: “Georgia’s got a really, really good offensive team and the quarterback obviously does a fantastic job of, whether they’re running the ball, carrying out fakes, play action passes, dropback passes, I mean he is very efficient and effective in everything he does. He’s very accurate with the ball. He’s smart, throws it the right place. So he does a great job of implentation of exactly what they want to do. And they have a really, really good scheme.”

“And obviously Brock Bowers is a really, really good player. Probably the best player at his position in the country.”

“I’m assuming that he will play in the game. I don’t know any different than that. He’s a mismatch issue, but he’s also a good blocker and a really good competitor so it’s not only his pass-catching ability, it’s his ability to do all the things that really good football players do. And he does them all at a high level.”

What we think it means: I’m gonna assume that if it were Alabama in Atlanta last Saturday instead Georgia Tech, Bowers would have gone in the Bulldogs’ most recent game. Saban’s point remains, though: this isn’t a Georgia offense devoid of other quality options at the skill spots.

The performance by UGA quarterback Carson Beck this season has been massively undervalued. Without Bowers and wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the lineup together on multiple occasions, Beck has made good use of wide receiver Bell, Dominic Lovett and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and tight end Oscar Delp.

So while a healthy Bowers represents the equivalent of a unicorn at his position, there’s more to the Bulldogs on O than just Bowers. If Bowers can’t go, though, UGA will be without its version of Milroe. In other words, he’s the one guy on the Georgia offense that the Alabama defense hasn’t seen the likes of this season.

If Bowers does go, how Alabama goes about defending UGA’s 11 and 12 personnel groupings will be fascinating to watch. Regardless, here’s guessing true freshman safety Caleb Downs will be in heavy rotation.

Saban on the Alabama-Georgia “rivalry”: “I think that all these sort of you call them rivalry games, some of them are instilled in the culture, like the Auburn game, the Iron Bowl. That’s a part of the culture. People have been watching that game for how many years, and it’s always going to be that. Some of these other sort of rivalry games as you call them aren’t traditional rivalries. But because there’s two really good teams playing and it’s been historically that way for a while, they become those kind of games. That’s kind of what this has become.”

“You don’t get an opportunity to play against a team who’s won 29 straight games very often, which speaks to their quality but it also speaks to the challenge and the opportunity that our team has in preparing for a team like this.”

What we think it means: Forget about what the Tuesday night TV show tells you, the College Football Playoff starts this Saturday in Atlanta. Well, if we’re talking about the two programs in the sport that move the needle the most, anyway.

If Alabama knocks off UGA Saturday, a playoff that doesn’t include a one-loss SEC champion will be incomplete. I mean, we’re really going to leave out a team that has handed the two-time defending national champions its only two losses in the last 31 games?

In that scenario, we’d be talking about a champion from a conference that has produced 13 of the last 17 national champions. If anything, this feels a lot like 2012, when, in nipping the Bulldogs at the old Georgia Dome, Alabama essentially won it all.

As for the “rivalry” part, the Crimson Tide winning seven of the last eight contests in the series doesn’t really speak to competitiveness. It’s the last one — a UGA win in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game — that weighs heaviest with Saban, though.

That was in Indianapolis. What Auburn has been to UA at Jordan-Hare Stadium, UA has been to UGA in Athens and Atlanta. Previous success in those places won’t have a say in the outcome this time.

To extend the win streak in those towns to seven, Alabama will need to be the more Alabama of the two.

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