"You can't possibly get that Saban-Kirby thing without Nick Saban": Alabama-Georgia rivalry may decline, claims CFB analyst

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs have been rivals for quite some time. But college football analyst Josh Pate believes that it won't be as big as it has been in the past.

Part of the reason why Pate believes the Georgia-Alabama rivalry has taken a hit is because of Nick Saban's retirement. The rivalry was there because it was Kirby Smart coaching against Saban, as Smart used to be on his staff. With that, Pate thinks the rivalry has now taken a hit.

"For the time being, it's still the biggest matchup in the SEC," Pate said, via 247Sports. "However, there's no way it's the same. You can't possibly get that Saban-Kirby thing without Nick Saban.

"Maybe Alabama and Georgia are still the best programs in the conference, but what made Bama-Georgia great and really thick with hostility was the Saban-Kirby dynamic. The staffs hated each other. The recruiting staffs hated each other. Half of them worked for one and then went to work for the other. They recruited against each other."

Saban went 8-2 against Georgia during his 17-year stint in Tuscaloosa and 4-1 against Smart's teams.

With Saban, the rivalry was intense, but as Pate says, new Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer and Smart have never crossed paths, which is why he doesn't think Georgia and Alabama have a true rivalry anymore.

"With Saban gone, what does Kalen DeBoer's Alabama look like? I don't think they're going to take a backseat to anyone," Pate said.

"I don't think Alabama is going anywhere. They'll still be really good. But Kirby and DeBoer haven't crossed paths. So, it's just going to be those logos. It's going be those brands."

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Analyst says Alabama is a must-win game for Kirby Smart & Georgia

Although Josh Pate doesn't think Alabama and Georgia have a rivalry anymore, the analyst says that the game this year is a must-win for Kirby Smart.

Georgia is set to go on the road to play Alabama on Sept. 28, and Pate says that its' a must-win game for Smart's job security.

"Georgia is a 3.5-point favorite in Tuscaloosa this season," Pate said. "This will be the first time in a very long time that a team is expected to go to Alabama and win. This Georgia team will be expected to go to Alabama and win. If they go in there with their returning quarterback in Carson Beck and drop a game, things will get personal quickly.

"If Kirby goes 1-4 against Saban and starts 0-1 against DeBoer, he'll hear it from his own folks. That's the way the rivalry maintains its status as one of the premier ones in college football. Other than that, I don't know that you can maintain it. What it takes for a rivalry to be that intense is pretty fleeting. Those ingredients have to come together perfectly. I'm just glad we got to see it as long as we did."

If Smart and the Bulldogs defeat Alabama, it will give Georgia a big boost to become the SEC champions.