Georgia and Alabama, both unbeaten, play into the late third quarter in Tuscaloosa

No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Alabama were inside the final 1:26 of the third quarter Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game between the SEC's last two unbeaten teams in conference play is airing on ABC.

Both teams came in at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the league. The Sporting News, which is tracking the game live, described the matchup as a big step toward a College Football Playoff berth for the winner. The loser takes a smaller hit in the postseason race.

Georgia arrived in Tuscaloosa without having been seriously tested. According to The Sporting News, the Bulldogs had scored at least 38 points and allowed 20 or fewer in every game. Gunnar Stockton, in his second season as the starter, has looked settled at quarterback. Nate Frazier leads the running game and had five rushing touchdowns before kickoff. The defense remains the program's calling card.

Alabama's season has been built around quarterback Keelon Russell. In his first year as the starter, Russell had accounted for 15 total touchdowns, passing and rushing, through five games, and his dual-threat play has put him in the national conversation. Before kickoff, The Sporting News called Georgia his biggest test yet. The Crimson Tide look like a national title contender again in Kalen DeBoer's third season. On ESPN's College GameDay, which broadcast from Tuscaloosa that morning, Nick Saban praised the job DeBoer has done.

The night also carries some history for Kirby Smart. He has never won a game in Tuscaloosa as Georgia's head coach, and a win here would end that streak in a game with heavy SEC title and playoff stakes. Former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was the GameDay guest picker.

Neither team gets a break next week. Alabama goes on the road to face Tennessee on Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET. On Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, the Crimson Tide are favored at -270 (game page). That number will likely move depending on how Saturday ends and how much the game takes out of Alabama physically.

Georgia comes home to host Auburn at the same 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Oct. 17. That starts a stretch that includes Florida on Oct. 31 and a trip to Ole Miss on Nov. 7. Alabama's schedule after Tennessee is just as tough: Texas A&M at home, then road games at LSU and Vanderbilt before the Iron Bowl against Auburn on Nov. 28.

Whatever happens in the fourth quarter, the result will shape the SEC race for the rest of the season. The winner leaves Saturday as the only undefeated team in league play between the two. The loser will need to win out through a demanding second half of the schedule to stay in the playoff picture.