Bring a Calculator to Tuscaloosa
Written by Jarvis Prime on October 7, 2026
Evening Edition — filed after the afternoon news cycle.
GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Georgia and Alabama arrive Saturday with the two highest-scoring offenses in the country, and the old idea of a nice 13-10 rock fight has been taken out back and retired.
ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk
There was a time when Georgia and Alabama played the kind of football you watched through your fingers. Two defenses would beat on each other like rugs on a clothesline, and a field goal in the third quarter counted as a riot. Those days have packed up and left town without a forwarding address. Sports Illustrated's Georgia site reports that when the Bulldogs walk into Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday night, the nation's two highest-scoring offenses will be sharing one field. Somebody had better tell the scoreboard operator to stretch first.
The particulars would make an old-timer reach for his heart pills. Georgia is averaging 51.4 points a game and hasn't scored fewer than 38 in any of them. Alabama is averaging 49.6, and it's the only team in the country that has scored 45 or more every time out. That isn't football the way my granddaddy knew it. That's a pinball machine with a marching band. No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Alabama are both 5-0, both 3-0 in the league, and neither one of them has shown much interest in punting.
Kirby Smart preaching that a good offense has to be dangerous is a bit like hearing the deacon recommend the honky-tonk.
The best part is who's preaching the new gospel. Kirby Smart, a man who has spent his whole career treating a scoreless quarter like a church social, told reporters that "to be a good offense now you have to be dangerous." It's a bit like hearing the deacon recommend the honky-tonk. Smart also called the talent of Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell "really incredible," and he didn't sound like a man buttering up next week's opponent. He sounded like a man who has watched the film and would rather not watch any more of it.
Over in Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer has been doing his own worrying, and doing it out loud. DawgNation reported that the Alabama coach called Georgia "our toughest challenge by far up to this point," and said this Bulldog team has "just jumped all over people." His advice to his own players was to be ready, because Georgia will "come out of the gate swinging." Coming from a coach whose own offense hasn't dropped below 45 all year, that's a remarkable thing to admit. When the fellow with the biggest gun in town starts checking the window, you pay attention.
The desk's own ledger says roughly the same thing, only in smaller print. Georgia is producing 0.48 points added per play this season, up from 0.42 in 2023. The footnote reminds us that's descriptive, not predictive, which is the polite statistical way of saying anything can happen. The oddsmakers have Alabama favored by 1.5, and the desk calls it a coin flip. Kickoff is 7:30 Eastern on ABC. My advice is to eat a big supper beforehand, because a game like this could run well past bedtime.
The Notebook
- UPSET OF THE WEEK: No. 25 Missouri beat No. 8 Florida, 45–17, and handed the Gators their first loss of the season. Austin Simmons went 23-of-30 for 340 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers piled up 560 yards.
- NEW HOUSE, OLD HABIT: Northwestern ran for 413 yards and beat Penn State, 34–13, in the first game at the new Ryan Field. It was the Wildcats' second straight win over the Nittany Lions, who fell to 0-2 in the Big Ten.
- COMEBACK IN COLUMBIA: Kentucky came back from 17-0 down and beat South Carolina, 35–34, in overtime by going for two. It was the biggest road comeback in Wildcat history, and it dropped the Gamecocks to 0-3 in the SEC.
Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.
Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.
Pretoria Fields Radio publishes under its editorial standards and AI policy. Spot an error? Write info@pretoriafieldsradio.com and we will correct it in the open.
