On Monday afternoon, No. 2 Alabama head coach Nick Saban addressed the media to primarily discuss his team’s looming game with No. 3 Georgia, head-coached by Saban’s one-time assistant, Kirby Smart.

On Georgia: “Probably one of the best teams in the country . . . Kirby [Smart] has done an outstanding job there . . . They play well in all phases of the game.” Saban broke down Georgia in all three phases:

…Defense: “Maybe the best defensive team in the country—all the way around from stopping the run, having good pass defense, getting off the field on third down.” Currently, Georgia ranks in the top 10 in the FBS for the following major defensive categories: No. 1 in rushing defense; No. 2 in total defense; No. 3 in passing efficiency defense; No. 5 in scoring defense; No. 10 in third-down conversion rate.

…Offense: “They control the ball—one of the leaders in time of possession . . . a good balance.” Indeed, Georgia currently ranks 5th in the FBS in time of possession this season with an average game-time of 34:35. Saban then mentioned by name Zamir White and George Pickens—and “the quarterback (Stetson Bennett) has been efficient for them.” The head coach reiterated that the Bulldogs were a “very, very well-balanced offensive team.”

Saban on Bennett: “He played within himself . . . good with play-action passes and well-balanced . . . He has really just facilitated everything that he’s needed to do from his position to help all the other good players [Georgia has] to make plays . . . I think [Bennett] has done an outstanding job.”

…Saban cited Georgia's special teams as being good all the way around, concluding with: “There’s not a lot of weaknesses in this team. It’s going to be really challenging for us to be able to execute the way we need to execute—on all cylinders—to be able to be successful to win this game.”

Misc: Saban mentioned Najee Harris being recognized as the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Week. The head coach stressed Alabama’s offensive-line play as being a big factor in Harris rushing for 206 yards on 23 carries and five touchdowns against Ole Miss. The senior running back enters Saturday’s game having scored a rushing touchdown in 10 straight games, whereas Georgia has not allowed a rushing touchdown by a non-quarterback in 18 consecutive games (since the 2018 SEC Championship Game versus Alabama).

…On Saban’s “sign-stealing” suggestion that Ole Miss might have been stealing the Tide’s defensive signals: “What I was really speaking to, I always felt we were one play behind,” Saban said. The head coach added that he likened it to, if you’re playing against “someone really good,” like “Joe Montana,” and, "if you call this, they do the right thing against that—as if they knew what you were going to do.”

More on Georgia: When comparing Georgia and Alabama’s defensive schemes, Saban said that the schemes had “some similarities, but [Georgia has] progressed in what they do relative to the players they have—and I think they do it really well.”

When asked about his former strength coach-turned-Georgia special teams coach Scott Cochran’s comment that he thought he’d “lose his job” after his “funeral” remarks about the Bulldogs in 2008: “I’m just not one to say anything about the other team,” Saban said, “and that’s about all I remember of that.” On Georgia’s special-teams play under Cochran, Saban said “systematically” the special teams at Georgia is essentially the same as a year ago; however, this season, “they’re (Georgia) just doing a really good job of executing it.”

Saban discussed the Crimson Tide’s game last Saturday—a 15-point win over Ole Miss, yet a victory in which Alabama yielded 48 points and 647 total yards.

…Saban said he was proud of his team for “playing through the fight”—that it competed well and finished. “The number one thing about all of this,” the head coach started, “we faced a tough offense and we need to learn from the mistakes we made.” Saban added, “The only mistake would be if we didn’t learn from the mistakes we made.”

…Saban later added that “missed assignments and tackling”—or “fundamental things you have to fix”—were most detrimental to the Alabama defense versus the Rebels.