Georgia and Alabama will meet again during the regular season. It’s the third straight season that is the case, with Georgia coach Kirby Smart being very aware of that scheduling note.

But this year’s game, set for Oct. 10 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will feel different. Not just because Georgia has much more recent experience playing in Bryant-Denny Stadium, having played there in 2024.

But because the last time the Bulldogs faced Alabama, they stomped the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game.

Georgia dominated Alabama in a 28-7 win. The defense held the Crimson Tide to -3 rushing yards, while the offense played clean and took advantage of short fields.

Georgia has beaten Alabama before under Kirby Smart. But the 2022 National Championship Game was very different from what happened last season. Alabama led in the fourth quarter of that game, with Kelee Ringo’s iconic interception widening the margin of victory.

With last season’s game in Atlanta, there was no doubt who was the better team that day. That confidence should do wonders for a Georgia team that seemed in its own head against Alabama.

Consider the first game against the Crimson Tide last season. Georgia let Alabama race out to a 24-14 lead at halftime, as it struggled to get stops on third down. The Bulldogs had chances to take the lead in the second half, but a drop by Talyn Taylor and some questionable red zone calls led to a 24-21 loss for the Bulldogs.

That Georgia didn’t let the loss to Alabama last season impact how it played in the SEC championship game might be the only argument needed to say that there’s no carryover from game to game between these two teams.

Many of the key players from last season’s game are gone. Eighteen of them were selected in last year’s NFL draft, showcasing the talent on both sides of the ball.

Georgia and Alabama were also very banged up going into that game. With the contest occurring on Oct. 10, the teams will not have completed a full SEC slate by the time they meet. They’ll both have played multiple SEC games by that point in the schedule.

One interesting note when it comes to this contest is that the two sides won’t have off weeks before facing each other this season. In the 2024 and 2025 regular seasons, both sides had an extra week of rest to prepare for the clash. Georgia faces Vanderbilt on Oct. 3 while the Crimson Tide will be coming off a road trip to Mississippi State.

The 2026 season represents another year removed from Nick Saban’s time in Tuscaloosa. As Kalen DeBoer enters his third year at Alabama, this team will have more of his imprint on it than either of the previous two.

Georgia never blew out a Saban-coached Alabama team. That did happen in Atlanta last December to DeBoer. While the Crimson Tide rebounded with a win over Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff, Alabama’s season was snuffed out in a 38-3 loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

The mystique that Alabama once had has unquestionably worn off. Georgia’s win in the SEC championship game further proved that point.

Alabama is now closer to everyone else in college football than the goliath it was during the 2010s.

Winning at Alabama won’t be easy next season, as the Crimson Tide still figures to be one of the more talented teams in the country. But the prospect of going into Tuscaloosa, Alabama and coming out with a win is not the daunting task it might have seemed when Saban was there.

Georgia still has to go out and prove it is the better team than Alabama. It unquestionably did that last season. If it does so again in 2026, the idea of Georgia having an Alabama problem can be further buried.