MACON, Ga. — While the 2022 National Championship is less than a week away, the connections between Alabama and Georgia are numbered -- even right in Central Georgia.
Mercer Football Head Coach Drew Cronic played for the Bulldogs from 1995 to 1997, and earlier this season, his Bears actually faced the Tide in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama would win the Sept. 11 matchup 48-14, but nonetheless, the game proved to be an important learning experience for the Bears, who had the chance to see first-hand what this year's Alabama team can do.
"We competed," Cronic said. "Our kids went and played hard, played physical and got after their tail. It's good for our guys to matchup with some of those guys and go find ways to get it done and if you don't do it the right way you get exposed."
In the true spirit of SEC football, a hard-nosed matchup awaits on Monday night in Indianapolis. Alabama and Georgia might be the best two teams in the nation, and that certainly remains true on the ground and up front, on the line of scrimmage.
Still, the question remains: what will Georgia be able to do when Stetson Bennett is forced to throw the football?
"Alabama's going to be hard to run the ball against and that's Georgia's bread and butter," Cronic said. "When they're not able to run the football, is Georgia going to be able to make enough plays in the passing game to score enough points? That's going to be interesting to me."
Of course, on Dec. 4 in the SEC Championship game, Dawgs fans saw what Alabama quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Bryce Young is capable of.
Two months prior, Cronic and his Bears did, too. While it certainly will be difficult for Alabama to beat the same team twice when Monday rolls around, Coach Cronic knows as well as anybody, that as long as Young is in the game, so is the Tide.
"It's hard enough to stop him (Young) when you do the right things," Cronic said. "Georgia's really special up front defensively. I'd imagine if they have a weakness it's more in the secondary. They're going to have to get some pressure on that kid. You can't let him stand back there and throw the football. They're going to have to get some heat on him."
And as for who Coach Cronic will be rooting for on Monday night, the answer is, well, a bit complicated.
"I'm a Georgia graduate you know so I'm obviously pulling for the Dawgs. But I've kind of become a Bama fan too just because they treated us good. They appreciated the fact that our kids came out there and battled."
Alabama and Georgia will meet on Monday, January 11th at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.