Georgia vs. Alabama: Which coach, program is facing more pressure?

One of the biggest games of the college football season is set to take place on Saturday. 

No. 2 Georgia heads to Tuscaloosa to battle No. 4 Alabama in a rematch of last season's SEC title game. So far, each team has done what it needed to do. Both teams are 3-0, with Georgia squeaking out a win against Kentucky and Alabama comfortably winning against Wisconsin in Week 3. 

With both teams holding serve to this point, the significance of this matchup remains the same from when I pointed to it as one of the 10 games that will define the 2024 season back in June. I'll have a full on-field preview of this matchup in Thursday's episode of "The Joel Klatt Show." But as the ramifications of Saturday's result will likely be massive, I want to take a 30,000-foot view to evaluate where these programs are at in respect to the rest of the sport and where each of them is at in their respective history. 

Obviously, the two head coaches in Saturday's game are really good. I consider Kirby Smart to be the best coach in college football at the moment. His record speaks for itself - two national championships with both wins coming in the last three years.

However, where is the pressure sitting in this game, at least how it relates to the coaches? You might think to yourself, "Well, the obvious answer to that question is the guy replacing Nick Saban." If you are thinking that, slow down for a moment. I actually think there's more pressure on Smart in Saturday's game. 

Smart has done everything and he's dominated everybody in the sport. Well, he's done all but one thing: overtake his mentor at Alabama, Nick Saban. He was 1-5 against Alabama in the six games he went up against Saban after becoming Georgia's head coach in 2016. Even during