Alabama vs Georgia 2026: Inside the Oct. 10 Showdown

Georgia’s trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 10, 2026, will be the 77th meeting in the Alabama-Georgia series and the fourth meeting between the two programs in just three seasons — a stretch that has already produced a road upset in Athens and an SEC Championship blowout in Atlanta. With Kalen DeBoer entering his third…

Georgia’s trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 10, 2026, will be the 77th meeting in the Alabama-Georgia series and the fourth meeting between the two programs in just three seasons — a stretch that has already produced a road upset in Athens and an SEC Championship blowout in Atlanta.

With Kalen DeBoer entering his third season at Alabama and Kirby Smart coming off a Georgia team that beat his former program for the SEC title, this rivalry needs no artificial hype heading into October.

Quick Facts: Alabama vs. Georgia 2026

Three Meetings, Two Seasons: How We Got Here

This is not a rivalry renewing itself after a long layoff — it’s a rivalry still writing its most recent chapter. The last three meetings alone read like a playoff series:

Why It Matters: Georgia and Alabama have now met in three straight seasons, a scheduling frequency that was rare in earlier decades of the rivalry, when the two programs sat in different SEC divisions and often went years without playing.

Alabama vs. Georgia: The All-Time Series

According to Alabama Athletics’ official series history, Alabama and Georgia have played 76 times since their first meeting on Nov. 2, 1895 — a 30-6 Georgia win in Columbus, Georgia. Alabama holds the all-time edge, 45-27-4.

• First meeting: Nov. 2, 1895 — Georgia won 30-6 in Columbus, Georgia.
• All-time record: Alabama leads 45-27-4 across 76 games.
• Largest Alabama win: 36-0, in both 1905 and 1923.
• Largest Georgia win: 35-0, in 1948.
• Longest win streak: Alabama won seven straight from 2008 to 2021, before Georgia snapped it with a 33-18 win in the 2021 CFP National Championship Game.
• Current streak: Georgia, 1 game, following its 28-7 win in the 2025 SEC Championship Game.

Last five meetings:

The two programs have also met five times in the SEC Championship Game, with Alabama holding a 4-1 edge in that setting, and twice in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, with each team winning once (Alabama in January 2018, Georgia in January 2022).

The 2025 Regular-Season Thriller in Athens

When Alabama traveled to Athens on Sept. 27, 2025, it walked into a Georgia team that hadn’t lost a home game in six years. Quarterback Ty Simpson threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score as No. 17 Alabama beat No. 5 Georgia 24-21, handing the Bulldogs their first home loss since 2019.

Why It Matters: The win doubled as history in its own right — Georgia had gone more than two decades without losing a regular-season home game to Alabama in Athens specifically, dating back to a 2003 Bulldogs win. Snapping that streak on the road was one of the signature results of Alabama’s 2025 season.

Georgia’s SEC Championship Answer

Ten weeks later, Georgia got its response. In the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta, quarterback Gunner Stockton threw three touchdown passes and ran for 39 yards, earning MVP honors as third-ranked Georgia routed 10th-ranked Alabama 28-7. It was Georgia’s first-ever win over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game after four previous losses in that setting, and the first win over Alabama for Stockton and his fellow fourth-year Bulldogs.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who spent years as Alabama’s defensive coordinator under Nick Saban before taking over at Georgia, called it a title “for the seniors.” The win gave Georgia its fourth SEC title under Smart and 16th overall, along with back-to-back conference championships. For Alabama, the loss dropped the Crimson Tide to 10-3 and complicated its College Football Playoff positioning under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.

Analysis: Two results this different, produced by the same two teams within ten weeks of each other, say less about which program is “better” than about how much this rivalry now swings on execution in a handful of possessions. Both games were decided in large part by which quarterback controlled the fourth quarter.

Bryant-Denny Stadium: The Setting

The 2026 game will be played at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama’s home venue since 1929, located on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. The stadium’s official seating capacity is 100,077, with a record crowd of 101,821 recorded on four occasions. It ranks as the fourth-largest stadium in the SEC and among the ten largest stadiums in the world.

Georgia’s recent history at the venue is limited: the Bulldogs’ only two trips to Tuscaloosa in the last two decades of this series came in 2020 (a 41-24 Alabama win) and 2024 (a 41-34 Alabama win) — both Crimson Tide victories. Georgia has not won in Tuscaloosa in this series since a 2003 trip, when the two programs still met on a rotating cross-division basis.

Big Picture: A near-capacity, rivalry-atmosphere crowd at one of the sport’s largest stadiums has historically favored the home team in this series — Alabama is 9-2 at home against Georgia since 1991, per the series’ game-by-game record.

Kalen DeBoer vs. Kirby Smart

DeBoer is 2-1 against Georgia across his first three seasons in Tuscaloosa, having won the 2024 and September 2025 meetings before losing the 2025 SEC Championship Game. Smart, a former Alabama defensive coordinator under Nick Saban, is 2-7 against Alabama overall dating back to his first season at Georgia in 2016, with both of his wins coming in de facto title games — the 2021 CFP National Championship and the 2025 SEC Championship Game.

Where Both Programs Stand Entering 2026

Alabama closed the 2025 season 11-4 overall (7-1 in SEC play), reached the College Football Playoff, beat Oklahoma 34-24 in the first round, and then lost 38-3 to Indiana in the Rose Bowl CFP quarterfinal. The Crimson Tide finished the year ranked No. 9 in both the final AP and Coaches polls.

Ty Simpson, the quarterback at the center of Alabama’s win in Athens, is no longer with the program, leaving Austin Mack and Keelon Russell as the leading candidates in Alabama’s 2026 quarterback competition. Kalen DeBoer enters his third season at the helm.

Georgia, for its part, enters 2026 as the reigning SEC champion under Kirby Smart, coming off a season that ended with back-to-back conference titles and a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.

What’s at Stake for the College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff will keep its 12-team format for the 2026 season, with one structural change from prior years: the champions of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are now guaranteed automatic bids regardless of their final ranking, alongside the highest-ranked Group of Six champion and a conditional Notre Dame bid. The remaining spots go to at-large selections chosen by the CFP committee.

Why It Matters: Because the SEC champion is guaranteed a playoff spot no matter where it’s ranked, a head-to-head result between Alabama and Georgia in October carries weight well beyond one game in the standings — it factors directly into the SEC Championship Game picture, and by extension, each team’s clearest path to a guaranteed playoff bid rather than relying on an at-large selection.

Projection: Alabama’s own schedule adds pressure to this specific game — the Crimson Tide play Georgia in the middle of a six-game stretch (Florida State through Texas A&M) without a single open date. How Alabama performs against Georgia inside that gauntlet, more than any single result, is likely to shape whether the Crimson Tide are chasing an SEC title or simply playing for playoff positioning by November.

Conclusion

Alabama and Georgia don’t need history to manufacture drama in 2026 — they made plenty of their own over the last two seasons. A road upset in Athens, an SEC Championship statement in Atlanta, and now a rematch at Bryant-Denny Stadium give this October matchup as much recent stakes as any game on either team’s schedule. With Alabama’s quarterback competition still unsettled and Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs defending their SEC crown, this is a rivalry entering the season with no shortage of things left to decide.

Related reading: Alabama 2026 Football Schedule · Alabama Quarterback Competition 2026 · Kalen DeBoer Coaching Record · Kirby Smart at Georgia · SEC Championship Game History

Official & primary sources: Alabama Athletics — Football History vs. Georgia, ESPN — 2025 SEC Championship Game recap, ESPN — Alabama 24-21 Georgia, Sept. 27, 2025, CBS Sports — SEC Championship gametracker, CBS Sports — CFP stays at 12 teams for 2026, College Football Playoff — official 2026-27 format announcement.

FAQs

When do Alabama and Georgia play in 2026?

Alabama hosts Georgia on Oct. 10, 2026, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Is Alabama vs. Georgia 2026 a conference game?

Yes. Both schools are SEC members, and the game counts as part of Alabama’s nine-game conference schedule in 2026.

Where is Alabama vs. Georgia being played in 2026?

The game is at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which seats 100,077.

What channel will broadcast Alabama vs. Georgia in 2026?

TV network and kickoff time had not yet been announced as of this writing; the SEC typically sets those details closer to game week.

Who won the last Alabama-Georgia game?

Georgia won the most recent meeting, 28-7, in the 2025 SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta.

Who won when Alabama and Georgia played in the 2025 regular season?

Alabama won 24-21 in Athens on Sept. 27, 2025, handing Georgia its first home loss in six years.

What is the all-time series record between Alabama and Georgia?

Alabama leads the all-time series 45-27-4 across 76 meetings dating back to 1895.

How many times have Alabama and Georgia met in the SEC Championship Game?

Five times. Alabama leads that portion of the series 4-1, with Georgia’s lone SEC Championship win over Alabama coming in 2025.

Who are the head coaches for Alabama and Georgia?

Kalen DeBoer, entering his third season, coaches Alabama. Kirby Smart, a former Alabama defensive coordinator under Nick Saban, coaches Georgia and has led the Bulldogs since 2016.

How did Alabama’s 2025 season end?

Alabama finished 11-4 (7-1 SEC), lost the SEC Championship Game to Georgia, then beat Oklahoma in the CFP first round before losing to Indiana in the Rose Bowl CFP quarterfinal.

Who was Alabama’s quarterback in the 2025 win over Georgia, and is he still on the team?

Ty Simpson threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score in that win. He is no longer with the program entering 2026, leaving Austin Mack and Keelon Russell in the team’s quarterback competition.

Who was named MVP of the 2025 SEC Championship Game?

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton was named MVP after throwing three touchdown passes in the 28-7 win over Alabama.