It's time once again for the two titans of the SEC -- Georgia and Alabama -- to lace them up, gird up their loins, and enter the field of battle on the gridiron.
(That's a fancy way of saying Bama and the Dawgs are 'bout to wrassle again.)
And while things seem to be tilted in Georgia's favor this year with what looks to be an overall stronger team, home field advantage, and the coaching edge (though Mike Bobo detractors will argue that point), the truth is that none of that really seems to matter.
Georgia fans look ahead to a game with Alabama with great anticipation, thumping their chests and sounding their barbaric yawps (read: barks) until just before game time. Then that fervor abates to dread and worry.
The Bulldogs could have the equivalent of the 1985 Chicago Bears suited up in red and black, while Alabama could show up with the 2017 Cleveland Browns, and the Crimson Tide would still possess the swagger to make things difficult.
Alabama has beaten Georgia nine of the last ten meetings - the 2021 National Championship Game being the outlier for the Bulldogs - and that's not to say the Tide have walked away with a lot of easy victories. It's been brutal for the Dawgs.
The mental calisthenics Alabama has put Georgia and its coaches through would make even the most battle-hardened drill sergeant envious, and the emotional chaos they've put fans through should be considered a felony offense for cruelty.
Every time Georgia feels like they have Bama exactly where they want them, something happens to unravel the moment and put the Crimson Tide on the celebration end of the game. Even the national championship win wasn't certain until Kelee Ringo snatched Bryce Young's prayer from the sky and ran it back for the game-sealing touchdown.
Georgia has become mental captives to Alabama
There's a mental hold Alabama seems to have, and it can't be explained. Some felt it would just slip away into the twilight when Nick Saban hung up his whistle, but despite all the struggles Alabama had in 2024, they still managed to be a jagged stone in Georgia's shoe with Kalen DeBoer at the helm.
Ryan Williams pirouetting his way down the field to a game-winning score. Tua to Smith on 2nd-and-26 in overtime, Jalen Hurts second half miracles, the Tyler Simmons offside that wasn't, Chris Conley stumbling to the ground as time ran out -- all ghosts that haunt Georgia every time a matchup with Alabama comes around.
It's uncanny and near unexplainable. The football gods give a nudge in the direction of Crimson, and suddenly things go sour for the Bulldog Nation.
Georgia should beat Alabama in 2025. The Bulldogs should physically dominate the line of scrimmage. The multi-headed beast in the UGA backfield should amass obscene yardage. Gunner Stockton should solidify his spot in the Heisman race.
Should, my friends. Should.
Despite holding a lot of advantages, it's certain that Kirby Smart's team and Georgia fans will all be trying to hurdle that mental blockade, waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for that horrible call that turns Bulldog social media on its ear, and brings a Grinch-like grin across the faces of everyone wearing crimson.
That forbidden thought of "Alabama has our number". No one wants to say the ever-popular quiet part out loud. But here it is.
If Georgia doesn't have a healthy, near insurmountable lead in the 3rd quarter, all those awful, icky feelings will start creeping in and Alabama may once again find a way to torture their neighbors to the east.
The only thing that will stop Georgia from winning this game is as tangible as a gypsy curse, and just as hard to get rid of.
It's Alabama.