Georgia, the defensive mammoth, and Alabama, the perennial favorite, seemed on a collision course for college football’s pinnacle all season.

They feuded at the Southeastern Conference championship in December — a game that left the Bulldogs little like the giants they had been since their first game. On Friday, each team tussled with their college football playoff semifinal opponents and was given a chance to meet again in the national crown game in Indianapolis on Jan. 10 — provided the game is not disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Alabama (13-1), who has won six national titles under Nick Saban (he took over the team in 2007), advanced into their sixth national championship game since 2015. Georgia (13-1), a program that has come close but has not won a national championship since 1980 and has advanced to its second national title game in five years (the Bulldogs lost in overtime to Alabama in 2018).

After beating Ohio State in January to cap one of the most dominant seasons in college football history, Alabama headed into the 2021 season with the rest of the nation.

It seemed unlikely to match last season’s performance as the Crimson Tide — who lost a handful of players to the 2021 NFL draft, including their 2020 Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith — edged out Florida in their SEC opener with little and less lost to Texas A&M than a month later.

Georgia, who entered 2021 with the top-ranked recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports, took first place as they progressed through their schedule and went undefeated in conference play.

And Alabama, despite its inconsistencies, remained a top-five team heading into the regular-season finals against Auburn. Saban, stern as ever, admonished his fanbase’s criticism of his team’s imperfections ahead of the Iron Bowl in late November.

“When I came here, everyone was happy to win a game,” Saban said on his radio show. “Now we are no longer happy to win a game.”

A week after their Iron Bowl victory, the Crimson Tide, despite being offensively flat in the game, beat the nation’s best defense and amassed over 500 yards of attacking surface against a Georgia team that was only allowing about 250 yards per game. Prior to dropping 41 points to Alabama, the Bulldogs had dropped more than 13 points in a game only once this season.

The loss dropped Georgia coach Kirby Smart, once an assistant coach on Saban’s Alabama team, to a 4-0 loss to his former boss.

Afterwards, Smart told reporters that the embarrassing loss after an unbeaten season did little damage to the Bulldogs’ psyche.

“What it did was reinvigorate our energy,” Smart said. “It re-centers you.”

That was evident in Georgia’s 34-11 win over No. 2 Michigan in the Orange Bowl, a physical game in which the Bulldogs’ defense was near perfect.

“We knew we were better than what we showed in the last game,” quarterback Stetson Bennett said during the Orange Bowl’s post-game trophy ceremony.

The Bulldogs have a chance to exact revenge for a poor performance at the line of scrimmage where they were uncharacteristically bullied in the SEC championship game. While Georgia has had no trouble putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks all season, the team didn’t post a sack against Alabama a few weeks ago.

But the Bulldogs’ athletic defense, as motivated as it will be at Lucas Oil Stadium, will face Alabama’s offensive line at its best.

When the Crimson Tide struggled offensively during the regular season, it was often due to inconsistencies in the performance of their offensive line. Against Auburn, multiple pass protection glitches allowed rushers to easily bring down quarterback Bryce Young (he’s been sacked seven times).

In the conference title game, however, Young had the time and protection he needed to find receivers downfield and play with his feet. And against the Bearcats in the Cotton Bowl, the Crimson Tide offensive line made way for running back Brian Robinson Jr. to set a career high as Alabama ran past Cincinnati to advance to the title game.

The championship game – if it doesn’t derail – will be the 72nd meeting between the teams. Alabama has won the last seven, and it will be the seventh straight season of the SEC sending at least one team to the national championship game.

While college football has certainly been disrupted in many ways by the pandemic, it made it through most of this season with few interruptions before bowl games began. But when the highly contagious Omicron variant led to a nationwide spike in cases, leagues changed their schedules, several bowl games were canceled and the college football playoff changed its health protocols in hopes of getting key games.

Late Friday night, with seconds remaining before the eventual victory over Michigan, the Bulldogs looked ready to pour a bucket of cold liquid on the winning coach’s head.

Instead of participating in the playful gesture of celebration, Smart could be seen speaking emphatically to his players, dismissing their attempts at an early shower.

After one of their best seasons in years, a familiar opponent awaits them. The work is not finished yet.