Nick Saban is still fairly new to his role as a college football analyst. Naturally, having spent years coaching teams, the GOAT of college football is bound to have biases and favorites. One obvious favorite? His former team in Alabama. However, the perfectionist he is, Saban isn’t letting those biases affect his objectivity. As the Alabama Crimson Tide gears up for their long-awaited clash against the Georgia Bulldogs, it would have been easy to guess who Saban will back in the game. Well, if you thought that, you were wrong!

A day before the game, Nick Saban joined The Pat McAfee Show to share his thoughts on the Alabama-Georgia showdown this Saturday. McAfee asked Saban about Saturday’s game, saying, “Obviously, you’re very close to the Alabama team; you’ve played the Georgia team many times. What do you see?” Nick Saban made sure that he didn’t give the Bulldogs fans anything to bookmark from his remarks.

“Well, I think it’s going to be, you know, a great game. That’s why you come to places like this, or Georgia for that matter, because, you know, it’s an opportunity to play in games like this. You know, great competitors like to play against really good competition and sort of see how they can have success.”

Nick Saban also added to it, taking about their accomplishments and areas they need to improve, saying, “I mean, if you’re playing against somebody you’re better than, you don’t always get that same kind of self-gratification from what you’re able to accomplish. So these are two really good teams. I don’t think that either team has really totally found their SEC legs, especially on offense, to have the consistency.”

Well, knowing Nick Saban’s history with Alabama, this neutral reaction is quite surprising. However, being an analyst, he has to give an objective opinion; he can’t be biased. However, the injury statistics say something else about the teams. Let’s get into it.

Does Alabama Crimson Tide have an edge over the Georgia Bulldogs?

Well, we can’t blame Nick Saban for having an unbiased opinion on Alabama and Georgia’s upcoming faceoff. Both teams are on a winning streak of 3-0 this season. However, the Bulldogs might face some challenges in terms of injury.

Running back Roderick Robinson II has been out since the start of the season because of a fall camp injury. After him, two new players cannot play in week 5 against the Crimson Tide. Georgia’s offensive line faces a big blow as the team’s starting guard, Tate Ratledge, will be missing from Saturday’s game because of his knee and ankle injury. There are speculations that Daniel Calhoun will take over his position, but Tate is one of the top offensive linemen in the country; losing him is not a good sign for the Bulldogs. Even wide receiver London Humphreys also cannot play because of mononucleosis.

Alabama’s injury reports bring relief to the team. Wide receiver Cole Adams and safety Malachi Moore might return for their game against Georgia. Malachi suffered a head injury during their matchup against Wisconsin, and Cole was recovering from an arm injury he suffered during the South Florida game. Even though there is no official confirmation regarding their return, their return can give Alabama’s offense an edge.

Georgia has had a terrible record in this rivalry in the last 15 years. All eyes would be on Kalen DeBoer and Kirby Smart and how they approach the game. It’s a new world at Bama without Saban. Even for Smart, it’s an unfamiliar territory, going against a Saban-less Crimson Tide for the first time. That may be the blessing he may have looked for after the Bulldogs’ loss in the SEC Championship game last year. Well, he has his wish, but Kalen DeBoer will make sure that the traveling Georgia fans experience the same-old at the Bryant-Denny Stadium.