Alabama Takes Positives From 20-17 Loss to Georgia Into Trip to Tennessee

Alabama came within three points of beating Georgia on Saturday night. The final at Bryant-Denny Stadium was 20-17, and the debate in Tuscaloosa this week is whether a close loss to the country's top program says more about the Crimson Tide's ceiling than its record does.

Hannah Stephens of Roundtable Sports argues that it does. Her case is that the defeat showed Alabama is still a team that can win a national title. "I don't believe Alabama was exposed Saturday night," she wrote. She points to how the Tide handled an early 10-0 deficit. Keelon Russell found Marshall Pritchett for a 22-yard touchdown, and an 80-yard drive ended with EJ Crowell scoring as time ran out in the first half, sending Alabama to the break up 14-10.

Kane Wommack's defense gave Stephens most of her evidence. Georgia came in averaging more than 51 points per game and left with 20, its lowest total of the season. Bray Hubbard added another interception. The Bulldogs still put up 455 yards of total offense, though, and 206 of those came on the ground, so Alabama's run defense has work to do.

Russell finished with 185 passing yards and a touchdown and ran for 41 more. Georgia sacked him four times, and Stephens names pass protection as one of the main problems Alabama has to solve. She also highlights a late personal foul on Dijon Lee Jr. that helped Georgia keep the ball and run out the clock. According to the report, Kalen DeBoer said afterward that his team's emotional discipline has to improve.

Stephens sees these as execution problems rather than a talent gap, and execution can be coached. That view gets tested right away. Alabama, now 5-1 and ranked No. 6, travels to No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. The Volunteers are also 5-1, and for a team that has already lost once, a second defeat in October would make the path to the College Football Playoff much narrower.

The market still trusts the Tide. Alabama is favored at -317 on Novig, one of the venues listing the game, and DraftKings has the best sportsbook price at -325. Tennessee is getting 8.5 points, and the total is 52.5. Full numbers are on the Alabama at Tennessee odds page.

Georgia, now No. 1 and 6-0, plays Auburn (3-2) at home at the same time on ESPN. The Bulldogs are heavy favorites at -1076 on Novig and -1316 at Pinnacle, with a 20.5-point spread and a total of 49.5, per the Auburn at Georgia odds page.

In Knoxville, Alabama has to show that its pass protection, run defense and discipline have improved. If they have, the case that Saturday's loss was a setback and not a ceiling gets a lot stronger.