Alabama did not make the College Football Playoff last season. Nick Saban is no longer coaching the program. The Crimson Tide took a step back from the sport’s elite in its first year under Kalen DeBoer.

Yet the game is still the most important one on Georgia’s loaded 2025 schedule, at least according to ESPN.

The Sept. 27 game against the Crimson Tide was labeled as the game that will “define” Georgia’s season in a recent article on ESPN.com.

“No Saturday figures to be as important as Georgia’s Sept. 27 game against Alabama at Sanford Stadium, given the Bulldogs' 1-6 record against the Crimson Tide under coach Kirby Smart," ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote. “Last season, Georgia nearly rallied from a 30-7 deficit at the half in a 41-34 loss at Alabama. The Bulldogs held a 34-33 lead, but then watched it disappear on Jalen Milroe‘s 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Williams with 2:18 to play. Another loss to the Tide wouldn’t knock the Bulldogs out of the SEC title game or the CFP, as we saw last season, but it would put them in an early hole."

As Schlabach points out, Smart is 1-6 in his time against Alabama. It’s the only program that has consistently given him trouble, as Smart is 104-13 against the other schools he has faced during his nine years in Athens.

However, this year’s contest will be different from the previous seven in that it is the first that will be played in Athens between the two schools. The last time Alabama visited Athens came back in 2015 when Smart was still Alabama’s defensive coordinator.

Alabama came away with a 38-10 win that day. Georgia does have the nation’s longest home winning streak, as the Bulldogs have won 31 consecutive games in Sanford Stadium, Georgia’s last home loss came against South Carolina in 2019.

Both Alabama and Georgia will be breaking in new quarterbacks next season, with Milroe and former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck moving on. Gunner Stockton is the presumed favorite for the Bulldogs, while Ty Simpson is Alabama’s most experienced option.

Last season’s loss to Alabama did not wreck Georgia’s season, as the Bulldogs were able to rebound and still win the SEC.

Alabama is far from the only marquee opponent on Georgia’s 2025 schedule. The Bulldogs have home games against Ole Miss and Texas, along with visits to Tennessee and Auburn. Georgia also faces Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., and Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

In ESPN’s ‘Way-Too-Early’ Top 25 rankings for the upcoming season, Georgia is set to face five ranked teams. Interestingly enough, none of the ranked teams on Georgia’s schedule have the Bulldogs as the game most likely to define their respective season.

Georgia’s game against Alabama is set for Sept. 27, the fourth game of the season for the Bulldogs. Both teams will have a bye before facing each other.

Georgia opens the 2025 season at home against Marshall on Aug. 30.