Joel Klatt Predicts Significant College Football Upset in Week 5

Every now and then, college football provides a matchup of epic proportions. Conference championship, College Football Playoff, bragging rights – there are a wealth of implications on the line this Saturday as the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide square off in Tuscaloosa.

Both SEC programs sit at 3-0 entering the first top five matchup of the season. First-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is preparing for his first game in the conference, while ninth-year Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is vying to get back in the win column against his former team.

The former Nick Saban disciple has led the Bulldogs to a 1-5 record against the Crimson Tide during his tenure in Athens. This will be Smart's second game in Bryant-Denny Stadium and first since 2020.

The quarterback battle should take center stage with a pair of Heisman Trophy contenders on both sides, featuring Alabama's Jalen Milroe and UGA's Carson Beck. Milroe and company walked away with a, 27-24, win in the 2023 SEC ghampionship Game and thwarted the Dawgs' chances at a three-peat.

Even though Alabama is 59-2 at home since the 2015 season, Georgia is considered the road favorite (-2), per ESPN Bet. UGA is currently on a 42-game regular-season winning streak, but Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt projects a close battle that ends in favor of the Tide.

Klatt believes the key to the game rests on the shoulders of Beck and the Georgia passing attack, which has not proven to be explosive to this point. Beck's average yards per completion (11.5) ranks 69th in the country.

"So I'm riding with the Tide," he said on "The Joel Klatt Show." ..."Milroe plays well, and I think Alabama wins a classic, tight ball game. And it's going to be 24-21 at home. Bama wins and covers."

Smart has won 21 straight when given a week or more to prepare for an opponent. DeBoer, on the other hand, has won 10 straight such games. Something will have to break on Saturday night.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC). ESPN's "College GameDay" will air on-site from 9 a.m.-noon ET (ESPN).

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