re: Is UGA going to be the mirror image of Alabama

The big difference IMO is who are the masterminds of those defenses: in one case you have the HC at Bama who is a proven master of defense, who have proven elite-level FBS defenses, and who brings in nationally elite prep defensive talent...

In the other case you have a DC who IMO is a solid DC but hasn't really proven himself at UGA yet: yes Bama's schedule last season wasn't the toughest but IMO UGA's schedules the past 2 seasons were even weaker than Bama's....

With UA you have a program that brings in #1-ranked classes regularly, while at UGA they bring in top-10 ranked classes. At UA they have led or tied the SEC in both total defense and scoring defense every year since 2008 (that year they tied with UT in total D and were 2nd to UF in scoring D). UGA has been around 4th or 5th in the SEC in those areas, if not lower....

With the defensive talent UGA has had the past 2 seasons, and against the talent level of the opposition they have faced, you'd think UGA would be top 3 at least in most defensive categories...even by default. But they weren't:

Pass D

11: 5th
12: 2nd

Pass Eff. D

11: 4th
12: 6th

Rush D

11: 3rd
12: 12th

Total D

11: 4th
12: 6th

Scoring D

11: 6th
12: 6th