The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs are all set to face No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday as one of the most talked about games of the 2024 college football season. This game will be a crucial moment to decide which program will end up in the 12-team college football playoffs and which team will bid farewell to it. Meanwhile, one more thing that has caught the attention of the fans is that it’ll be the first time head coach Kirby Smart will face Alabama without his former mentor Nick Saban. And if you ask him how it feels, he says, “It’s not strange.”

Ahead of the September 28 matchup between Georgia and Alabama, the Bulldogs’ head coach, Kirby Smart, was asked about his thoughts on being on the same field that he once used to coach under head coach Nick Saban and how he feels to be there without him, to which he replied, “Don’t expect to be strange. I mean, that’s just normal force progression. Smart explained that it is nowhere near feeling strange about going back there.

He even described this event as an opportunity for his boys to mark their names in college football.

“Look at it like it’s a hell of an opportunity for our kids, our program national stage. And, you know, we’re on the national stage a lot. We’ve been on the national stage a lot, especially in the last three or four years. He’s correct, Georgia has seen tremendous success and is an honor to be named among college football’s few elite programs under guiding head coach Kirby Smart.

Smart further explained how it is going to be any other game for his boys when they face Alabama because they are looking forward to taking their rivals down in this challenging matchup. “So the reason kids want to come to Georgia is, they say, I want to play games like that. You know, most of you, two weeks ago, Saturday night was our game. It’s going to be that way this Saturday night. When you look at it, kids want to play in those tight games. And that’s why we’re going to have more of them after this. So it’s a great opportunity to play on the national stage. And that’s why we built our program. Home is playing tough.”

After hearing what Smart has to say, it looks like Georgia is quite cool facing Alabama. He added his boys like to play in such challenging environments.

Kirby Smart suggested Carson Beck improve before the game against Alabama

As of now, the Georgia Bulldogs have performed, maintaining their SEC legacy for years. They are undefeated in the 2024 season at 4-0, showcasing their impressive offense that averages over 30 points each game along with only 12 points on defense, but it’s still way behind their last year’s records. Being the starting quarterback of Georgia, all eyes are on Carson Beck and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, given past games’ shortcomings.

But the head coach has quite positive things to say about Carson Beck: “We have a really good offense; we have got a good quarterback. We have just got to go out and execute. Clean up what you do, do it at a higher rate, make good decisions, communicate better.”

Furthermore, Smart advised Beck to start faster in the game, giving an example of their last 13-12 tight win over Kentucky, where they only had 63 yards offense till half time.

Additionally, Carson Beck recorded 32 yards from 5-of-11 passing. Additionally, Carson Beck found it difficult to handle Kentucky’s top-notch defense. He even admitted to not meeting expectations after the game.

With that, fans and head coach Kirby Smart have high expectations from Carson Beck and his fellow mates to go at a high pace for the game against Alabama.