Should Bama sit until he meets UGA?

The question was put to Mecole Hardman, a member of the special team and special player: did the Georgia Bulldogs start thinking about Alabama?

Hardman's answer: "Who?"

At first, it seemed like a case of timid Georgia, as can be Georgia under Kirby Smart. But no. Hardman had not heard the whole question. (The post-match interview "zones" can be noisy places.) The interviewer said, this time more loudly, "ALABAMA".

"Do not think about it," said Hardman. "We have Massachusetts afterwards. December 1st – it's in the future. "

It is indeed, even if it is not really a distant future. December 1 – the day Georgia and Alabama meet for the SEC championship – is in less than three weeks and all that will happen by then will carry a subtext that is not underground: Do the Bulldogs have a shot?

Do not ask Smart, although someone did it on Saturday after Georgia's 27-10 dismissal from Auburn. That attracted the blaster that we just think. (Note: the Minutemen are 4-7 and lost to Georgia Southern by three touchdowns.) But there is no chance that Smart's staff will not have begun to dismantle Bama, as well as There is no chance that his former employer, Smart did the same thing in Tuscaloosa while he was eating his lunch – the daily salad with chicken and cherries – at his office.

As Nick Saban points out at any time, the final phase of college football has changed university football. A team would rather lose to a hated rival than miss the four-man tournament. The Scarlet Tide of Saban did it only last year. Even though the league title of the SEC is important, it is not the biggest of the contracts and it is possible that Alabama loses to Georgia and that both win. The Bulldogs do not have this alternative: if they do not win at the Mercedes-Benz stadium, they are not present.

But now, we wonder: would the magnitude of the playoffs be enough to convince Saban to shove Bama, to hit Auburn's match? Tua Tagovailoa, who beat the Bulldogs with relief for the national title in January and is in a position to win the Heisman, has a bad knee injury that his vile opponents continue to defeat. He has limped to each of the last four games of the tide.

Bama won the West on November 3, a few hours after Georgia won. The Tide then plays The Citadel, its version of UMass. He can win this game simply by paging and playing the defense. Although Saban insisted that Tagovailoa was "OK" after being planted against the state of Mississippi and having made another trip under the Tua tent, it would not be a shock. he omitted the date with the Minutemen.

Normally, that would not be a problem: Bama has Jalen Hurts, the # 2 winning quarterback of all time. Only, it may be that no. Hurts hurts his ankle and seems to move more slowly than Tagovailoa. The famous backup has not played in the last two games of Tide; he did not warm up on Saturday. Alabama Quarter # 3 is Mac Jones, a freshman who has completed five career passes. Even Saban does not beat Georgia with Mac Jones.

I'm just spitting, but what if Tagovailoa misses the next two games in Alabama, the second against Auburn? Would the great Saban, who was not afraid to beat Hurts at half-time while dragging Georgia 13-0, have the audacity to say, "You can worry about anything you want in Iron Bowl; I have the National Championship # 7 to win "? And what happens when it is?

Auburn is not as close to the team as she was supposed to be – Georgia overtook her by 242 yards in a match that could have ended at 40-10 – but she could beat Alabama without Tagovailoa and Hurts. A defeat would leave Bama in the same spot as Georgia starting December 1, resulting in a loss but needing only a win to qualify for the playoffs, that's all that matters. And before you blame me for not taking anything away … well, ask Auburn if Kerryon Johnson was not gearing up for the SEC championship the last year was nothing.

Johnson was the driving force behind the Tigers' wins in November against Georgia and Alabama, which brought them to Atlanta. He was injured in the second half of the match against Bama and was far from being himself against the Bulldogs, who defeated the team 28-7 against the team against which they had lost 40-17. Auburn missed the end of the playoffs; the teams they had just defeated were playing for the national title. Saban, who lacks nothing, surely did not miss the Kerryon case study.

The old slogan of BCS was "Every game counts". With the playoffs, this is no longer true. Alabama lost their last regular season game last year and made their way among the four players. If the SEC championship date is assured, it could give Tagovailoa a 20-day rest – he seems to be enjoying a break – and prepare for Georgia. The disadvantage is that a loss for Auburn would eliminate Bama's margin of error. He should beat Georgia just as Georgia must beat Alabama.

The Bulldogs play well enough to give Saban nervous nights, but Alabama with a reasonably healthy Tagovailoa would be the big favorite. Bama without Tua would not be favored. Georgia took a break when tilting the SEC title last year. He could catch an even bigger one this time.