Nick Saban knew he was going to retire from the Alabama Crimson Tide when he stopped Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs from a historic three-peat in the 2023 SEC Championship game.
Or that’s what ESPN SEC personality Paul Finebaum says a Bama assistant coach told him.
One of the main reasons Saban was able to retire on his terms with that pivotal 27-24 victory to make the College Football Playoff was quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Milroe, appearing on McElroy & Cubelic In the Morning show, had some interesting comments when asked about why the Tide prevailed against the Bulldogs.
"I'm big on body language and looking into an opponent's eyes,” Milroe recalled. “They looked defeated and didn't want anymore. Our team know it was going to be a 60-minute game, and Georgia didn't believe in that."
First-year head coach Kalen DeBoer probably is wishing his starting quarterback didn’t give their most-talented rivals that bulletin board material. DeBoer wants his QB1 to be confident to the point of brash, but it’s Georgia.
It’s Kirby Smart’s unanimous preseason No.1 Georgia with revenge already on their minds. It’s the same Georgia with a nearly 21 percent chance of winning the College Football Playoff led by Heisman favorite Carson Beck. It’s the same Georgia with eight players projected to go in the first two rounds of next year’s NFL draft.
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Maybe Milroe knows something we don’t under the tutelage of DeBoer, who of course did wonders skyrocketing Michael Penix Jr.’s career at Washington. And Georgia has to travel to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 28 for the much anticipated rematch against the preseason No. 6 Tide, of course this time without Saban on the sidelines coaching.
It’ll be interesting to see who has the look of defeat that day. If it’s Milroe and Alabama, expect a lot of smack talking from the Bulldogs and their fans.
