‘GameDay’ crew breaks down Alabama-Texas A&M, Georgia-Auburn: ‘This one gets ugly early and often’
It’s an Auburn-Alabama doubleheader on “SEC on CBS” on Saturday.
Auburn travels to No. 2 Georgia for a 2:30 p.m. kick, while No. 1 Alabama hosts Texas A&M at 7 p.m. The games will be live streamed on Paramount+ (free trial), fuboTV (free trial) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).
Whether or not either game will be competitive is yet to be seen, but, if the ESPN’s “College GameDay” breakdown of the games is any indication, they won’t be.
While the Jimbo Fisher-Nick Saban offseason feud was a talking point early Saturday morning, Kirk Herbstreit believes it won’t be the gas that fuels the Tide’s fire against the Aggies.
“I don’t know if coach Saban had a chuckle with it,” Herbstreit said. “They’re good friends. Friends argue. Brothers argue. I get it, but this Texas A&M team right now is limping into this game. To me, it is a perfect storm.
“Last year’s loss in College Station will have more to do with getting the players ready for this game than anything Nick Saban can say to making it personal with Jimbo Fisher. This one gets ugly early and often. Bama huge over A&M.
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The Tide has won the last four at home against Texas A&M by an average of 32 points.
“I don’t think they are friends anymore,” David Pollack responded about Saban and Fisher. “They might have been friends, but, if they are friends, I’d be shocked because of the vitriol and the hatred that was spewed between them.
“It is interesting with (quarterback) Bryce Young getting banged up. I don’t think he is going to play in this football game. If he does, that’s a problem for A&M. It’s a problem for A&M regardless.
“Here’s Jalen Milroe. What do you want to know about him? Think Jalen Hurts vs. Tua. It’s more of a running-style quarterback. … It’ll change. It will highlight more players differently, but he will definitely run the football and be a big factor with his legs.
Meanwhile, Georgia struggled in wins against Kent State and Missouri as it prepares for Auburn.
“I’m not excited about what I’ve seen, but I will give them credit,” Desmond Howard said about Georgia. “They made some end-game adjustments that allowed them to win, especially last week. They could have easily lost to Missouri.
“If you’re going to be up there like with the Alabamas, you’re going to have bring your best week in and week out because you know every time a team lines up against you, you are going to get their best shot.
Pat McAfee said the Bulldogs figure it out this week.
“When you are at the top of the mountain, that’s when the work really starts,” he said. “The difficult thing is when you get comfortable in it. I think this Georgia football team, although they have tremendous talent and the ability to turn it on …, it feels like they have gotten caught in a lull or a bore. You are national champions. You have stars everywhere. You got new guys coming in. You’re playing Missouri. You play Kent State and kind of let them hang around.
“This is a will Georgia bounce back and be the Georgia they can, and I believe they will. I honestly believe they have too much talent.”
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.