"It has been over a decade since the SEC championship game didn't feature one or both of Alabama and Georgia. This season's matchup will fall under the "both" category, marking the fourth time in ten years that the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs have met in Atlanta to determine the conference's champion. It has also resurfaced a fascinating trend: Georgia coach Kirby Smart's struggles to overcome Alabama."
"Smart has won over 100 games, three SEC championships and two national titles against all manner of opponents and opposing coaches. But he's just 1-7 against the Crimson Tide. Poor records against a rival aren't insurmountable -- just last weekend Ohio State coach Ryan Day exorcised some demons against Michigan. But with Georgia and Alabama set to square off for the second time this year and for the ninth time in Smart's tenure, the strange numbers behind Smart's teams' struggles bear examination."
"No currently active coach in college football has won games at a clip equivalent to Smart, who boasts a gaudy 116-20 record as head coach of the Bulldogs. His sport-best winning percentage, however, gets even better if one factors out his eight career matchups against Alabama -- going from 85.3% to 89.8%. Smart's win rate against the Crimson Tide sits at just 14.3%, a staggering falloff from his sublime record against other opponents."
Conference realignment and expansion have shifted many aspects of college football, but the SEC championship continues to frequently feature Alabama and Georgia. This season's title game pairs the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs in Atlanta, the fourth such meeting in ten years to decide the conference champion. Kirby Smart, a former Alabama defensive coordinator, has guided Georgia to 116-20, three SEC titles and two national championships. Smart is 1-7 versus Alabama, with a 14.3% win rate against the Tide versus 89.8% against other opponents, creating a 75.5 percentage-point disparity. Smart has seven losses to Alabama, more than half as many as to all other opponents combined.
Read at ESPN.com
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