Nick Saban offers honest assessment of Georgia Bulldogs

The Alabama Crimson Tide will play in the SEC Championship Game this weekend, a destination that everyone expected them to make before the season started. However, despite the fact that the Tide is 11-1, very few people are giving them much of a chance to win and see them as a “disappointment.” That’s not something that has sat well with head coach Nick Saban, who lambasted Alabama fans before this weekend’s Iron Bowl victory over Auburn for being “self-absorbed” and not having gratitude for wins.

The other reason a lot of people don’t expect much from Alabama this weekend is that their opponent, the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, has looked pretty much unbeatable all season long. Georgia has been dominant in a way that people usually expect Alabama to be, and their smothering defense is a huge part of that. The Bulldogs have shut out opponents three times this season and not allowed more than 17 points in any game all year long.

Meanwhile, the offense has scored 30 or more points in every game this season save for the season-opener against Clemson.

Saban met with the media on Monday to discuss the task at hand and while he was extremely genuine in his praise of the Georgia defense, he also made sure people knew that the Bulldogs’ offense is nothing to sniff at either.

“Look, I think they are outstanding,” Saban said. “And maybe they have simplified things, but they’re still really aggressive and do a lot of very, very good things that have made them the best defense in the country.”

“This is a complete team, and it’ll be a tremendous challenge for our players to play well,” Saban added. “That’s obviously the goal.”

For once, it seems, Alabama enters a game as a big underdog. We’ll find out just where both programs stand when the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs play on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the SEC Championship Game.

[Charlie Potter]