Yahoo Sports’ Caroline Fenton, Jason Fitz and Adam Breneman look ahead to this Saturday’s monster SEC showdown in Tuscaloosa. Hear the full conversation on the “College Football Power Hour” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
I’ll say this fit that as I looked at the, this matchup trying to figure out what is the X factor in this game.
I kept coming back to Jalen Mil Roe being able to run the football.
Georgia’s rushing defense is 42nd in the country.
Their worst statistical category by far on their team, Jalen Mil, two rushing touchdowns against Wisconsin only threw the ball 17 times against Wisconsin.
If Jim Murre can find a way to use his legs to open up this Alabama offense and to, and to run on Georgia, that’s the path I see for Alabama winning the game.
If he can’t, I see Alabama struggling to move the football on Georgia and I, I think Georgia wins the game, but Jalen Mro is the X factor.
I’ll be watching from the very beginning.
So let me ask you this then, what do they do?
Because the fact is like teams have tried to spy Mro.
Now, I understand that there’s a lot more team speed on Georgia’s defense.
So spying Mro makes a ton of sense but everybody that has tried so far to spy Mro has just been flat out, beaten by his speed.
Like he’s a lot faster than we’re giving the quarterback that looks like Jalen Mro credit for like he doesn’t look like he’d be a burner when he starts running, but nobody can seem to spy him.
So what does Georgia do?
You can’t just spy Jalen Mil because they’re gonna then throw the ball in the perimeter.
They’re gonna, so that’s what Joe Murrow running using his legs does, but he has to first use those, use the legs and be able to get on the perimeter for Georgia to respect it and have to spy him.
I don’t see them spying him from the very beginning, but when he starts to run and then make them respect it, they now have to put a spy on him.
It opens up everything else in the offense.
That’s why it’s the X factor to me.
I don’t see Georgia scoring enough points to keep up with Alabama with all of that being said, I’m not forgetting about three quarters against us.
F for Alabama.
I’m not forgetting the sloppy play.
You get the advantage of playing at home.
Absolutely.
But they also played at home against us.
F So that’s something that I’m keeping in the back of my mind.
But the other crazy thing is, look, listen to all three of us doubting Kirby Smart.
Kirby Smart is nine and one coming off of bis nine in one.
Kirby Smart is the bulletin board material.
King Alabama seems to be the popular pick.
You don’t think Kirby Smart’s collecting all of that and playing that through the locker room and saying they don’t believe in you.
Maybe that’s not enough, but maybe that is the kick in the butt that Georgia needed.
