Alabama football enjoys one tiny advantage on Georgia, while Lane Kiffin quiets | Toppmeyer

ATHENS, Ga. – Alabama better get to work on Georgia now. Better yet, get to work yesterday.

Figuring out how to slow Kirby Smart’s juggernaut in the SEC Championship will take every drop of coaching acumen left in the tank of Nick Saban, his old mentor.

What makes Georgia’s offense so tough?

“It’s not one guy. It’s dudes everywhere,” Smart aptly put it after No. 2 Georgia disassembled No. 9 Ole Miss and stomped the Rebels to pieces in a 52-17 victory Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

The result was not shocking. The margin was.

“It felt good. Like, it felt good,” Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey said. “It felt like we were clicking.”

Like Alabama (9-1, 7-0 SEC), Georgia is improving, but the Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0) were ahead of the Crimson Tide when both teams started to progress.

That leaves Georgia in the lead.

Alabama, though, enjoys one little advantage.

The Crimson Tide will face an FCS opponent, Chattanooga, on Saturday, while Georgia will play at Tennessee.

Saban would never admit it – something about crap and a musical instrument – but he could assign staffers to spend their week on Georgia preparation.

Chattanooga (7-3) is a fine team at its level, but the Mocs aren’t beating Alabama. Of course, the way Tennessee rolled over and played dead in a blowout loss at Missouri, the Vols aren’t beating Georgia, either. But, UT is a different team at home than on the road, and an SEC opponent will require Smart’s attention. Smart insisted Georgia won’t have the luxury of spending any time on Alabama these next two weeks.

“No, No,” he said, when asked about it. “Support staff will be looking at Tennessee and Georgia Tech.”

I’m not so sure. Georgia Tech week should allow for at least a little Alabama preparation around the edges, but the fact is, unlike Alabama, Georgia enjoys no FCS breather in the run-up to the SEC Championship.

Alabama’s advantage ends there, though.

Lane Kiffin is the only coach who has faced each team, so I asked for his opinion Saturday night of the SEC Championship matchup. Kiffin is normally soft-spoken, and after the beatdown that threatened to knock Ole Miss from the ranks of a New Year’s Six bowl, he spoke at barely more than a whisper. I strained to hear him.

Here’s what I deciphered: Kiffin thought Georgia looked like a better team than Alabama did on the day the Tide beat Ole Miss 24-10 in Tuscaloosa. But, that game was two months ago. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe wasn’t playing like he is today, and Alabama isn’t the team it is today.

Given that Ole Miss faced the teams so far apart, Kiffin isn’t appointing himself the expert on the matchup.

“These guys can battle it out in the SEC Championship and figure it out,” he said.

I’ve seen Alabama more recently than Kiffin, so I’ll weigh in:

Alabama’s defense is in the same realm as Georgia’s. They’re both stingy. Alabama is usually a little more disruptive, although Georgia’s defensive front showed such ferocity against the Rebels that I had flashbacks to last year. I’d take Alabama’s pass rush, but give me Georgia’s secondary.

Georgia’s offensive advantage is notable. The Bulldogs’ weapons are seemingly endless. Their offensive line keeps Carson Beck clean. Even as a first-year starter, Beck is the SEC’s most polished quarterback this side of Jayden Daniels. Nonetheless, Alabama averaged 42.6 points its past three games. This team doesn’t look like the one that lost to Texas, struggled with South Florida or let Kiffin’s Rebels hang within two scores.

Smart says he can’t afford to peek at Alabama, but the Tide can get the jump on the Dawgs. They’ll need every minute of work they can squeeze in, because Georgia looks mighty.

Kiffin can speak (softly) to that.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: SEC Championship: Why Alabama football enjoys one tiny edge on Georgia