On the Line, hosted by Noah Gardner and Lance Dawe, will be at SEC Media Days from Monday, July 19 through Thursday, July 22, broadcasting from Radio Row. Be sure to listen to the show each day from 2-4 p.m. on ESPN 106.7 and Fox Sports Central Alabama on 98.3 FM to keep up with what’s going with your favorite program as we count down the days to the college football season. For more articles from RadioAlabama Sports and On the Line, find them here.
Alabama only returns three starters on offense.
Imagine losing three players that could have won the Heisman. Alabama’s departures include more than just QB Mac Jones, RB Najee Harris and WRs DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle as only two starters on the offensive line return. Of course, every year the narrative is the same: Alabama will reload. But, as a caller reminded me on a recent episode of On the Line, the past is not a guarantee that Alabama will win the SEC championship every season. Alabama will reload, but how much of a step back will the offense take in 2021? The answer to that question may determine if Alabama will win the SEC championship.
Georgia has the offensive firepower to finally edge the Crimson Tide.
The SEC East, primarily Georgia, has had a hard time producing a team that is complete enough to beat Alabama. In the last three meetings with the Crimson Tide, Georgia scored 24, 28 and 23 points respectively. With the effectiveness of the Alabama offense, averaging 25 points against Alabama won’t cut it. Alabama has lost five games in the last five seasons, with opponents outscoring Alabama by an average of 39.8 to the Crimson Tide’s 29.4 points per game. I reiterate that Georgia’s 25 points against Alabama isn’t enough to cut it.
Will this season be different? Georgia returns a starting quarterback that averaged 307.8 yards per game in JT Daniels. If it wasn’t for the injury to George Pickens, each of the top-seven receivers would be back for 2021. They added former five-star TE/WR Arik Gilbert from LSU in the transfer portal to further improve the receiver room. Each of the top-six rushers are back, and three of the five starters return on the O-line. The talent is there for Georgia to do more damage on the scoreboard. Let’s see if Kirby Smart can get them over the hump.
Alabama has to play Auburn on the road.
Auburn is 6-4 at home against Alabama in the last 10 meetings, and in each of the six Auburn wins, Alabama did not win the SEC Championship in those seasons. I’m not saying that Auburn is the better football team. Some of the years that Auburn beat Alabama, they probably weren’t the better team, but things get weird when Alabama travels to Auburn.
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