Through the first eight weeks of the season, Alabama was praised as the best team in the country and the national championship race wasn't about which teams would play, but which team would get the chance to be dominated by Alabama.
That all changed against LSU. The Tide escaped Death Valley with one of the most dramatic comeback victories in school history. Alabama got the win, but the Tigers exposed serious holes in the Tide's secondary.
But the next week, hot shot quarterback Johnny Manziel and a young, hungry Texas A&M team took it to Alabama. The loss dropped the Tide to No. 4 in the BCS standings behind three undefeated teams, putting the Tide's dreams on hold.
Flash forward to today, after two of the undefeated teams lost, Alabama is right back in the hunt for the national title. A win over No. 3 Georgia will give the Tide a chance to play for its third national championship in four years.
Let me be the first to admit that this will be hard fought, tough game for Alabama, but I believe they'll pull away late and here's why.
Georgia's big game struggles
Georgia and quarterback Aaron Murray have struggled on the big stage and what bigger stage than the SEC Championship.
In the 2011 SEC Championship, the Bulldogs played well for most of the first halftime before falling apart and getting destroyed by LSU.
This season, in a highly anticipated matchup, Georgia was routed by South Carolina. It was hard to watch as the Gamecocks front seven manhandled Georgia's offensive line and put Murray on the ground.
Even if you look at the Florida game this year, Murray struggled. Yes, the Bulldogs won, but Murray still threw three interceptions. Georgia tried to give the game away, but Florida just played a little worse and the Bulldogs escaped.
On the other side, Alabama's AJ McCarron is a proven quarterback and has performed well on the biggest stage. If it comes down to quarterback play, McCarron has the edge.
Coaching battle
Georgia head coach Mark Richt has consistently under achieved. He's had national championship caliber talent, but has yet to win the big one. There's no denying that Richt is a fantastic coach, but ultimately coaches are defined by what they do in big games and Richt has yet to get his team over the hump.
Alabama's Nick Saban is a proven big game coach and has three BCS National Championships to prove it. What other coach could lose as much talent as Saban did last year and still have his team within a game of playing for back-to-back national championships?
Poking the bear
We all want players and coaches to be honest when answering questions and that's exactly what Georgia safety Baccari Rambo was. During an interview on ESPN radio, Rambo was asked if he thought Georgia was more talented and he responded, "I feel like we are more talented. We have better players at each position across the board, especially on defense. It's gonna be a great challenge. I know it's gonna be a great battle. It's gonna come down to who has the best defense. It's gonna come down to who makes more turnovers. It's gonna be a battle of the defenses."
Even if the part about Georgia being more talented is true, why say it? All this does is give Alabama, especially its defense, a little extra motivation. That statement puts more pressure on the Georgia players and Richt because if Georgia loses, people will point to coaching as the reason since they supposedly have better players. Also, Georgia hasn't done anything on the national stage in recent memory, so it would be wise for the Bulldogs to keep quiet.
With all that said, I believe Georgia has more NFL level talent, but Alabama has the better team and should win this game and clinch its spot in the national championship and a date with No. 1 Notre Dame.
Tide 31, Dawgs 20