ATHENS — A lot has changed since Georgia and Alabama met at Sanford Stadium just over two months ago, but not the programs’ expectations.

The Bulldogs (11-1) and Crimson Tide (10-2) were viewed as the programs that set the SEC standard when they met on Sept. 27, both expected to contend for the league title that they will indeed settle between them at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It’s Georgia’s eighth appearance in the past nine years under Kirby Smart — and fifth in a row, for the defending SEC championship coach — and Alabama’s 11th since Nick Saban took over as head coach in 2007, and Kalen DeBoer succeeded him in 2024.

Both programs had work to do on the field to maintain their lofty expectations, each having to break in a new starting quarterback and replace several NFL draft picks and transfers.

But here they are, back atop the SEC, and aiming for what would be the sixth CFP championship between them since the inception of the playoffs in 2014.

Not surprisingly, the key for both teams will be quarterback play, as UGA’s Gunner Stockton and the Tide’s Ty Simpson have each exceeded preseason expectations, both ranked among the top eight in the Heisman Trophy odds.

Smart, whose team came from behind to win in six of the team’s seven SEC wins, said 24-21 loss “seems like ages ago” when asked how the Bulldogs have changed since then.

“The growth of Gunner wold be one thing,” Smart said of Stockton, who at eighth in the Heisman odds still stands an outside shot of finalist status if he shines in the SEC championship game and others playing struggle.

“He’s played in more games.”

Smart said the defense has improved a great deal, too.

“Defensively we’ve got guys a little more experienced, that’s probably the biggest difference,” Smart said, comparing the current Georgia team to the one that gave up 24 first-half points to the Tide in the loss that snapped a 33-game home win streak.

“The guys that were young when we played them last time, they’re a little more grown up now.”

Indeed, cornerback Ellis Robinson IV and safety KJ Bolden are coming off arguably their best games in a 16-9 win over Georgia Tech that saw UGA keep Georgia Tech’s Haynes King from throwing or running for a touchdown for the first time in 23 games.

The Bulldogs defensive front, with freshman Elijah Griffin among those emerging, ranks fifth in the nation in run defense at 86.1 yards per game, and Georgia has climbed to 12th in scoring defense (16.67 points per game) and 13th in total defense (290.8 yards per game).

DeBoer pointed to the resiliency Alabama has shown since suffering a 31-17 road loss in the opening game, and a 23-21 home loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 15.

“Commitment has to be something supported by action, (and) the action that these guys have had, it goes back to the beginning of the year,” DeBoer said. “Just the way they’ve stayed the course, the way they’ve been resilient wining really, 10 of our last 11 games with eyeballs on them every single weekend, waiting for something, you know?

“These guys are just grinding. They are resilient. They’re a really close group that truly believes.”

Alabama and Georgia have both made believers out of everyone that, even as the game has changed and another season of great parity in the league has worn on, the two programs continue to set the standard in the SEC.