It’s still Alabama and Georgia, with all the made-for-TV trappings. Star quarterbacks. Stout defenses. top-five rankings and NFL prospects galore.

All tonight’s clash between the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide and second-ranked Bulldogs lacks is the make-or-break, elimination game-style magnitude. It’s also minus the familiar story line of Kirby Smart vs. Nick Saban, protege vs. mentor.

Whatever happens, the national and SEC championship hopes of the loser will be damaged but hardly dashed. National showcase games are nothing new for either team.

“We’ve been on the national stage a lot, especially the last three to four years,” Smart said. “So it’s the reason kids want to come to Georgia ”

It’s September, not December or January when Georgia and Alabama customarily meet. And with the newly expanded College Football Playoff field, there’s still little reason to doubt that both will be among the top 12 teams at the end of the season.

Lo and behold, Alabama is a home underdog for the first time since Nick Saban’s debut season, 17 years ago.

“Yeah, that’s interesting,” said Kalen DeBoer, Saban’s first-year successor and a coach with a 12-2 record against ranked teams in his own right. “I actually didn’t know that. Yeah, welcome to the SEC, right?”

Welcome to the SEC, indeed.

Georgia still has to play No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 6 Mississippi. Alabama has the Volunteers, 11th-ranked Missouri and No. 14 LSU still on the docket.

Nothing will necessarily be decided in this one, but it’s still Alabama-Georgia.

Georgia is favored by 11/2 points, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. It’s the first time Alabama has been the underdog at Bryant-Denny Stadium since LSU was a touchdown favorite in the 2007 game as Saban was just beginning to build what turned into a dynasty.

“Winning is hard,” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe said. “You know, that’s something that we embrace as a team.”

Northern Illinois: No formal MWC offer >> Northern Illinois said it has not received a “formal offer to consider a change” in its conference, but appreciates the “interest in our strong brand” amid media reports that the school and fellow Mid-American Conference member Toledo are being targeted by the Mountain West.

Five of the Mountain West’s 12 schools have decided to leave for the Pac-12, putting the Group of Five conference in a position where it must add two schools before 2028 to re-qualify for the NCAA’s requirement of having eight full members because Hawaii is only a partial member.

The Mountain West said Thursday that its seven remaining schools have agreed to stay with the conference. They are Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.

The schools leaving the conference for the Pac-12 in 2026 are Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State.