No. 10 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia square off on Saturday, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Southeastern Conference Championship.

These SEC powerhouses met in Week 4 of the season when the Crimson Tide (10-2, 7-1 in SEC) tiptoed out of Athens with a 24-21 victory, marking the lone loss on the season for the Bulldogs (11-1, 7-1 in SEC). 

The outcome of this game will have a significant impact on the College Football Playoff as well as the trickle-down effect that will go into the slotting of the rest of the SEC bowl matchups -- including Tennessee.

Would a three-loss Alabama team be welcomed into the elite field of 12? If not, the rest of the SEC teams would drop down a notch in the bowl tier. Georgia, with two losses, would still likely qualify, meaning a team like Notre Dame could be left out of the national championship tournament.

Despite the departure of legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban after the 2023 season, second year-man Kalen DeBoer has put the Tide back in championship contention against a familiar foe, continuing a dominant pattern.

For the last 10 SEC championship games, one of these two teams has been featured. Alabama has won six of the last 10 titles (3-0 against Georgia) while coach Kirby Smart and the Dawgs have won three in the past decade.

"This is what our program’s been built on. Winning championships, and it starts with an SEC championship," DeBoer said.

"It's a long road to get to this spot… guys are excited to go attack one of the goals we've had since the beginning."

Smart and his Bulldogs enter this game as the reigning SEC champions, having beaten Texas 22-19 in an overtime thriller last season.

Now in his 10th year of leading his Alma-mater Bulldogs, Smart discussed the presence of mind for matchups like these and how similarly he views them to regular-season games. 

“The championship game is no different than the game that gets you to the championship game," Smart said. “We've been playing championship games every week in my opinion.”

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson vs Georgia’s pass rush.

When these teams met in Athens for a week four clash, Simpson looked elite. Throwing two touchdowns on 276 yards, the quarterback out-dueled a talented Bulldogs defense that failed to bring him down for a sack.

Because of the time he was given to distribute the ball to his playmakers, Simpson was the difference-maker in Alabama’s victory over Georgia earlier this year.

At the time of their last showdown, Simpson was a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. With a recent dropoff in production as well as a forgetful loss to Oklahoma last month, Simpson's chances of hoisting the Heisman have since dropped. A key factor in Simpson’s slippage has been the amount of pressure he has faced in recent games.

If the Georgia defense can top its lackluster Week 4 performance in this rematch, applying heavy pressure and getting to Simpson, their odds of winning will drastically improve. 

If they fail to do so… expect Simpson to have another impressive showing, carrying his team to an SEC title.

Its offensive line can hold their ground and protect Simpson. 

Efficiency on the offensive side of the ball is paramount in this matchup. If Bama’s boys up front can put together a game like they did against the Bulldogs last time around, they will give their signal-caller the opportunity to lead them to a championship victory.

Kirby Smart and his staff out-coach DeBoer and Alabama.

This will be Smart’s eighth time coaching Georgia in the SEC championship game. The coach will be prepared and certainly fired up. Not only did Smart’s squad fall to Alabama earlier this year, but he has never beaten them on the conference championship stage. Expect Smart to reach deep into his bag of tricks in this one to put together a foolproof gameplan to finally best the Crimson Tide.

Smart’s SEC experience should trump that of DeBoer’s in this game.