Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer will be looking for a fast start when his teams takes the field against Georgia.

The battle for SEC supremacy is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide have combined to win six of the past seven SEC championship games and 11 of the past 12, facing one another on four of those occasions.

DeBoer is 2-1 against Kirby Smart in previous meetings, splitting last season’s matchups with a 24-21 win in the regular-season in Athens that ended UGA’s school-record 33-game home win streak and a 28-7 loss in the SEC championship game.

“We’ve seen Gunner Stockton now a number of times, but he keeps getting better,” DeBoer said at his press conference in Tuscaloosa this week.

“There’s, I think, probably more familiarity, and that’s us with them, and them with us, too.”

One thing DeBoer has taken note of about this season’s Georgia team is the Bulldogs’ first quarter dominance, as UGA has outscored its previous five opponents by a 70-7 margin the in the first quarter of games.

“This version (of Georgia), I mean, it’s just jumped all over people,” said DeBoer, whose Tide fell behind at Kentucky 7-0 and 14-7 before rallying for a convincing 45-17 win on Sept. 12.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, is they come out of the gate swinging, and so, you gotta be ready for that. And we gotta be ready when the ball is kicked off.”

Alabama had no issues with that last Saturday, jumping out to a 14-0 and 21-7 lead at then-No. 16 Mississippi State en route to a 56-23 win in quarterback Keelon Russell’s fifth career start.

The second-year former 5-star quarterback has directed an offense that ranks as the only one in the nation to score 45 or more points in each outing, as Russell, himself, ranks sixth in the nation in passing efficiency and 11th in passing yards (1,414) with 11 TD passes and two interceptions.

DeBoer says that’s a credit to his offensive coordinator.

“I think Ryan Grubb and the offensive staff – and again, new faces there – just coming together,” DeBoer said. “Did a nice job in the offseason, coming up with the things that we first thought were going to be a part of who we could be.

“You’re trying to figure out the quarterback position, and who that is, and what those people are capable of. And just development.”

Smart, once the defensive coordinator at Alabama under former coach Nick Saban during the final eight years of his nine-year stint on that staff (2007-2015), has been quite impressed.

“Quarterback (Russell) is playing amazing for them; the guy is really talented, fun to watch, and you’ve seen the growth just from the first game all the way through,” Smart said. “The talent this guy has is pretty incredible, and they have great scheme around him.”

As intense as the Alabama-Georgia games have been, both Smart and DeBoer have made it a point to express great respect and admiration for one another.

“Georgia, they’re gonna be our toughest challenge by far up to this point, (and) Coach Smart, and just everything he’s done there, building the program up, and again, this season, just doing an amazing job from just jumping on top of teams,” DeBoer said.

“You see them getting after people in the first half, and just sustaining the course, and sustaining it all game long,” DeBoer said.

“Obviously, this (Alabama) program wouldn’t be where it’s at with a lot of things he brought to it as well. So, nothing but great respect for Coach Smart. And just we know, again, we’ve got to be at our best this Saturday.”