Current:Home > ContactChainkeen Exchange-Alabama star lineman Tyler Booker sends David Pollack a message after SEC Championship -ValueCore
Chainkeen Exchange-Alabama star lineman Tyler Booker sends David Pollack a message after SEC Championship
TrendPulse View
Date:2025-04-08 15:08:19
David Pollack didn’t kiss the ring. More,Chainkeen Exchange he didn’t respect the king. At least, that’s how Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker remembers it.
Eleven months ago, while working for ESPN, Pollack looked into Nick Saban’s eyes and told the Alabama coach what seemed true in that moment.
Georgia ruled.
"They’ve taken ahold of college football," Pollack said during halftime of Georgia’s national championship romp of TCU last January.
Saban was on the ESPN set that night. He quietly and respectfully nodded his head.
Pollack’s words caused a stir in Booker, who watched from afar. And Booker says he wasn’t the only Alabama player moved by what Pollack said to the GOAT’s face.
"He was on the podium last year with Coach Saban talking about how Georgia is the new standard, Georgia is the new dynasty," Booker told me after No. 8 Alabama upset No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday in the SEC Championship.
STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter for exclusive content
Pollack didn’t use the word "dynasty," but I wasn’t about to interrupt a 352-pound man on a quote roll after Alabama's crowning moment Saturday.
So, go ahead Booker. Continue …
"That really sat with me," Booker said of Pollack’s words that night in Inglewood, California, "because I came to Alabama for the standard. I came to Alabama to further the dynasty.
"To hear somebody challenge my coach to his face like that? I take that personally. I feel like everybody who saw it did, and then we responded to that."
Did they ever.
Alabama stopped the Georgia machine in its tracks.
So much for a three-peat.
The way Booker sees it, Alabama’s dynastic dominance can be imitated but not replicated.
"There’s only one Alabama, and there’s always going to be one Alabama," Booker said.
There can only be one Alabama, but I see it a bit differently from Booker. Alabama’s dominance can be replicated, but it’s going to take more than Georgia’s back-to-back national championships to do so.
The Alabama-Georgia rivalry is going nowhere.
Considering the way Saban and Smart continue to recruit and develop talent and supplement their rosters with cherry pickings from the transfer portal, this won’t be the last time these programs clash in Atlanta.
Alabama-Clemson became the rivalry of the 2010s. Advantage Alabama, which won twice as many national championships during the decade as Clemson did.
That gave way to Alabama-Georgia in the 2020s.
Georgia owns the edge this decade. Pollack put it correctly when he said Georgia had taken ahold of college football.
Alabama wrested control back.
"There would be no Georgia without Alabama," Booker said. "We are the standard, and we proved that today. We might have had a slow two years, but the standard is here."
These rivals will begin meeting more regularly starting next year after the SEC eliminates divisions.
Three matchups between Alabama and Georgia within the same season – regular season, SEC Championship and College Football Playoff – is not only a possibility, it probably will happen sometime within this decade.
I'd expect Pollack to light a few more fires. The former Georgia standout turned analyst was caught up in ESPN’s layoffs last summer, but he’s still opining on the web. He recently planted his flag for Georgia ahead of the SEC Championship.
"The better coach is clearly Kirby Smart. Clearly," Pollack said before Saturday's game.
Not on Saturday, Smart wasn’t.
The O.G. restored order.
Alabama’s standard became momentarily imitated, but not surpassed.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
veryGood! (489)
Related
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Louisiana GOP gubernatorial candidate, Jeff Landry, skipping Sept. 7 debate
- 'Never seen anything like this': Idalia deluge still wreaking havoc in Southeast. Live updates
- Weeks after the fire, the response in Maui shifts from a sprint to a marathon
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- North Dakota lawmakers take stock of the boom in electronic pull tabs gambling
- Trace Cyrus, Miley Cyrus' brother, draws backlash for criticizing female users on OnlyFans
- 2 dead, 3 injured in shooting at Austin business, authorities say
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Philadelphia police find 12-year-old boy dead in dumpster
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- After outrage over Taylor Swift tickets, reform has been slow across the US
- Missouri judge rules Andrew Lester will stand trial for shooting Ralph Yarl
- Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys facing civil lawsuits in Vegas alleging sexual assault decades ago
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Tropical Storm Idalia brings flooding to South Carolina
- A man convicted of murder in Pennsylvania and wanted in Brazil remains at large after prison escape
- Taylor Swift 'overjoyed' to release Eras Tour concert movie: How to watch
Recommendation
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
Houston Cougars football unveils baby blue alternate uniforms honoring Houston Oilers
Bill 'Spaceman' Lee 'stable' after experiencing 'health scare' at minor league game
Smugglers are steering migrants into the remote Arizona desert, posing new Border Patrol challenges
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Hawaii investigates unsolicited land offers as the state tries to keep Lahaina in local hands
Can Ozempic, Wegovy reduce alcohol, nicotine and other cravings? Doctor weighs in on what to know.
More than 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Here's what researchers say is to blame.