Bulldogs not intimidated by ‘big dog’ Alabama. Should they be?

Elijah Holyfield stood with his arms crossed as he rattled off responses of reporters’ questions. As one came about Alabama’s intimidation, the Georgia running back paused.

Although a valid inquiry, Holyfield’s delayed answer was seemingly to make sure the question was serious. He then flashed a smile and gave the shortest response possible.

“Nah,” Holyfield said.

It drew plenty of laughs from the media as such a response wasn’t expected. Fans stood atop the third-floor staircase at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall and a larger-than-usual press assemblage asked the questions to acquire the Bulldogs’ feelings about the top-ranked, championship-defending, Alabama Crimson Tide.

As Holyfield’s backfield mate D’Andre Swift put it, Georgia “ain’t scared.”

Georgia enters Saturday’s matchup as a 13.5-point underdog, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. But the Bulldogs are also playing their best football of the season entering the conference championship.

Five consecutive wins and its last three in resounding fashion. Sure, Alabama has done that all season as its closest contest was a 24-0 win over Mississippi State, but Georgia has confidence despite the naysayers.

“They’ve got an extremely talented team,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “We respect that. But we also have a good football team, and our kids have a lot of pride in performance. It’s two different teams, and the good thing is we both get to go on the field and play.”

Added Alabama head coach Nick Saban on Georgia: “They’re one of the best, most complete teams in the country.”

Saturday’s game will serve as a rematch of last season’s National Championship game, a 26-23 thriller in which the Crimson Tide won. A semblance of a postseason rivalry has formed between the two teams, and the last two (2012 and 2018) have been one-score games.

Can Georgia give itself a chance again?

“Absolutely. I don’t even know why that’s the question,” Ledbetter said. “We did it before, and we’ll do it again.”

The stakes for the renewal of Georgia-Alabama are fairly simple, for the Bulldogs at least. A win puts Georgia back in the College Football Playoff for the second-consecutive season for the chance at another title.

This much is true: Alabama has an advantage in many statistical categories over Georgia and has one of the nation’s most-potent offenses led by sophomore Tua Tagovailoa and a host of upper-echelon playmakers. But Georgia can now boast a depth of its own.

Therefore, Georgia doesn’t think it’s as far-fetched for it to be victorious as many think. Yes, the rosters are different than a year ago. The Bulldogs are younger, while Alabama has another season with an improved Tagovailoa, although with a less-dominant defense statistically.

Ledbetter called Alabama the “big dog,” which is an attribution to the Crimson Tide leading the way for nearly the last decade. It’s a rare occasion when Saban’s team doesn’t have a No. 1 ranking next to its name. In the same breath, the Bulldogs’ senior said the two teams are similar in their styles of play.

So, there’s no expectation for this bout to be any different than usual.

“We can play with Alabama,” Georgia defensive tackle Michael Barnett said. “We have to literally just execute, play the game and try not to be too selfish. Do your job and everyone will be fine. We realized that last year, and we just have to execute in order to win.”

Will Georgia win? Maybe, maybe not. But is it afraid? Not a chance.

“It is not anything to freak out over,” Ledbetter said. “It is the inevitable. Everyone knew that this was going to come up. We are ready for it. We have been waiting for it the whole year.”