As people are looking forward to the upcoming matchup as the Alabama football team takes on the Georgia Bulldogs, there is no doubt that the two programs have had a rivalry in the eyes of many. Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke on the topic after blowing out Wisconsin the week prior to talk about the more recent rivalry and how both teams have made the feud way more exciting.

Alabama football's Kalen DeBoer speaks on rivalry with Georgia

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

DeBoer was on “The Triple Option” podcast where he was asked about the upcoming game where in his first SEC contest as the head coach for the Crimson Tide, it will be against the Bulldogs who are second in the AP Top 25 poll. He would harp on how important the rivalry is even if it doesn't span a long time like others in the sport according to On3 Sports.

“I think there’s rivalries for different reasons, right,” DeBoer said. “I think you nailed it. You’ve got your in-state rivalry and then you have the rivalries because you know that you’re playing for something at a high level. You know that this game, last year and past years, has meant national championship, conference championship. It’s meant a lot in those areas.”

It will be different for Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart as while he is used to facing former Alabama football head coach Nick Saban, it will be DeBoer this time around. In the last three meetings between the two teams, they have played for two conference championships and a national title which shows how successful the programs have been.

“So, it’s a rivalry if you want to call it that way for those reasons because there’s something at stake,” DeBoer said.

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Alabama football's Kalen DeBoer with elevated pressure against Bulldogs

This year is no different in that both teams have championship aspirations, even with DeBoer in his first year as the Crimson Tide are ranked fourth in the AP Top 25 poll. With that job comes pressure as while college football analyst Paul Finebaum spoke about Alabama football matchup, he would also talk about that aforementioned pressure that DeBoer is no doubt feeling.

“It’s massive, and some of it is because of the perception. Going into the season, I thought Georgia would be a much bigger favorite, but they have played poorly, nearly losing to Kentucky. Alabama has looked great. DeBoer has had a seamless transition, which is almost inconceivable, considering he was replacing Nick Saban, but he’s done almost everything right, and the fans right now cannot accept the fact that things have changed. They are still in charge of college football,” Finebaum said.

“I don’t want to tell them they’re not,” Finebaum continued. “That Texas is actually No. 1, but the real problem is a loss here would be a shock to the system, and Mondays after an Alabama loss are like nothing else, because they have happened so infrequently under Nick Saban.”

There is no doubt that the game will be highly anticipated especially since the Alabama football team are home underdogs which has not been seen since 2007 (LSU) and the last 90 straight games they've been home. At any rate, they look to remain undefeated and assert their dominance against the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday.