There has been a funeral that gave way to the rebirth of a dynasty, a torrential downpour and three titles. There have been moments when time seemed to stand still and others where it has helplessly slipped away. A couple of coaches switched sides, while a pair of changes behind center added even more drama to the mix.

And that’s just over the past 12 years.

No. 2 Alabama will host No. 3 Georgia on Saturday night in what is becoming one of the nation’s most entertaining rivalries. Following two instant-classic victories, the Crimson Tide is riding a five-game winning streak in the series. Although, that run has been anything but smooth sailing for Nick Saban and company.

Here’s a look at three of Alabama’s most memorable wins over Georgia through the eyes of the players who played a part in them.

“They’re wearing black because they are going to a (expletive) funeral.”

The now-famous line from Scott Cochran wasn’t originally intended for the public as the former Alabama strength coach mixed it into his pre-practice pep talk to players heading into the Tide’s trip to Athens in 2008.

Cochran’s comment was a response to No. 3 Georgia’s planned blackout for its nationally televised game against No. 8 Alabama. The Bulldogs had successfully pulled off the same stunt the year before during a 45-20 victory over Auburn. Cochran was determined that history wasn’t going to repeat itself. However, he wasn’t intending on his message getting picked up on camera days before the matchup.

“I wasn’t planning on it becoming public at all,” Cochran said this offseason after taking the special teams coordinator position at Georgia. “But at the same time, when it did, I was scared to death. I was 29 years old, I think. Whew! I thought I was going to lose my job.”

The overzealous strength coach was soon corrected by Alabama coaches who admonished him for providing any extra motivation to an undefeated Georgia team. In reality, the remarks only provided kindling for an already-heated matchup.

“That’s just Cochran,” said John Parker Wilson, Alabama’s starting quarterback that year. “He was a motivational guy, and that was a time in our program where we were coming up. I definitely don’t think he meant it maliciously. It was just, get out there, trying to get the guys going for a Tuesday practice. It’s just part of playing SEC football. You talk smack, and you get ready to go.”

At that point, Alabama didn’t necessarily need any extra confidence. Despite losing to Georgia in overtime the year before as part of a 7-6 season, the Tide entered the matchup as of the nation’s hottest teams. Riding the momentum of a stellar recruiting class that brought in big names such as Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Dont’a Hightower, Alabama was off to a 4-0 start, including a 34-10 statement win over Clemson during its season opener.

As promised, darkness descended over Sanford Stadium as the Georgia faithful were donned head-to-toe in black. Although, as Cochran predicted, that color was better befitting of the incoming dark moments ahead for the Bulldogs.

“Literally everything was black,” Wilson recalled. “Coming into the stadium you see everybody tailgating, everyone walking around, it’s all black. It’s nighttime at that point, and I was like, ‘Hey, this is awesome. This is as cool and as fun as it gets.’ It’s not intimidating. My favorite thing, and a lot of players’ favorite thing is to go on the road. You pull up in your four or five busses, and that’s all you got. It’s us versus all these people.”

Wilson remembers soaking up the electric atmosphere leading into the game as music pulsed out of the speakers while the rowdy Georgia crowd continued to raise the decibels even more.

That noise was short-lived.

After receiving the ball to start the game, Alabama went to work on crashing the party, chewing up 6:28 of the clock during an 11-play drive capped off by a 7-yard touchdown run from Ingram. After forcing Georgia to punt on its first possession, the Tide marched down the field on another extended drive to take a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.

“That was our MO,” Wilson said. “We were that fullback, tight end offense where we were going to run the ball to Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram, throw the ball to Julio. That’s who we were. We just wanted to go out there and be methodical. One thing led to another, and it’s just dead quiet in that stadium.”

Wilson started the game 7 of 7 for 101 yards. However, his biggest throw of the night didn’t come until late in the second quarter when he connected with Jones in the back of the end zone on a 22-yard pass to give Alabama a 31-0 lead heading into the half. The completion was later immortalized by artist Daniel Moore in a painting titled “The Blackout.”

“You grow up as a kid and that’s one of the bucket list things is to get ole Danny to paint a picture of you,” Wilson said. “That was awesome. I was in the zone. It was one of those things where we had an answer for everything. It didn’t matter what they were doing, we were ready to go. It was kind of like that season. One play keeps building on another you got a huge lead, and the next thing you know you win the game.”

Alabama learned its lesson earlier in the 2012 season. Trailing Texas A&M late in the fourth quarter, the Tide failed to capitalize on a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line, handing the ball off just once before AJ McCarron’s fourth-down interception essentially sealed the fate of a 29-24 upset to the Aggies. Looking back, the play calling was a bit puzzling for an Alabama team that went on to produce two 1,000-yard rushers that year.

“I think we kind of learned as a staff from that moment,” former Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones said. “I think there was a feeling of when we get into these kinds of situations and our backs are against the wall, let’s try to lean on our group up front.”

No. 2 Alabama once again found itself in a tight spot three weeks later when it trailed No. 3 Georgia by two scores during the third quarter of the SEC Championship Game. Alec Ogletree’s 55-yard touchdown return on a blocked field-goal attempt had just given the Bulldogs a commanding 21-10 lead on what was shaping up to be a forgettable afternoon for Alabama inside of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.

“We looked up and we thought, ‘Wow, this is really happening,’” Jones recalled. “At that point, the coaching staff walked over to the offensive line and they kind of said, ‘This is on you guys now. This is what’s been our bread and butter all year, running the football.’”

Sure enough, Alabama stuck to the ground, attempting just one pass over its next two possessions, both ending in touchdowns. After forcing a three-and-out from Georgia late in the third quarter, the Tide called seven straight run plays capped off by a 1-yard touchdown from Eddie Lacy to take the lead at 25-21 with 14:57 left in the fourth quarter.

“We went out there and we really only ran two plays the majority of the game,” Jones said. “We had an outside zone play and an inside zone play. We pretty much ran those two plays all the way down the field.”

Jones’ push in the inside was particularly impressive considering the lineman tore several ligaments in his foot during the second quarter in what is known as a Lisfranc injury. The injury typically requires season-ending surgery. However, after receiving a shot at halftime to dull the pain, Jones was able to continue on in the second half.

Trailing 28-25 with 3:23 remaining, Jones would make one of the biggest blocks in the game as McCarron dropped back on first-and-10 from the Georgia 45-yard line. After faking a handoff to T.J. Yeldon on play-action, the quarterback looked deep where he spotted receiver Amari Cooper streaking down the left sideline.

Meanwhile, Jones was matched up head-on against 6-foot-6, 350-pound Georgia nose guard Kwame Gathers. After absorbing a hit from Gathers early in the play, Jones allowed the defender to spin to his right, making his way toward McCarron. However, a last-ditch block from the center provided the quarterback with the time he needed to deliver a go-ahead strike to Cooper.

“I think everyone looks back and thinks it was a good block,” Jones said. “I always say it wasn’t that good of a block because I had to give an extra amount of effort. If it was a perfect block no one would have ever noticed. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

Jones remembers looking up in time to see Cooper haul in the reception in stride en route to the end zone. Normally, the lineman would have lumbered down the field to celebrate with his teammates. Given the pain he was in, he opted to jog gingerly to the sideline instead.

Jones spent perhaps the game’s tensest moment on the sideline as Georgia nearly put together a winning drive inside the final minute. The Bulldogs got as close as Alabama’s 8-yard line with 15 seconds remaining before quarterback Aaron Murray’s ball was tipped, falling into the hands of receiver Chris Conley, who slipped at the 5-yard line and was unable to get out of bounds to stop the clock.

“It was a lot of relief,” Jones said of seeing the final seconds tick off the clock. “Being a senior, I just really wanted to finish it off the right way. As a captain, you feel this responsibility to lead your team to a title. It felt great to know we still had the opportunity to do it.”

Alabama did just that, beating Notre Dame 42-14 in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.

Heading into Alabama’s national championship game against Georgia in 2018, starting center Bradley Bozeman revealed his postgame plans to the rest of his fellow offensive linemen. The redshirt senior was set to ask his girlfriend, Nikki Hegstetter, to marry him on the field.

“That sounds great, but what if we lose?” fellow offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher remembers someone asking at the time.

“That’s not an option,” Bozeman replied confidently.

A sense of destiny had swept over that year’s Alabama team, albeit after a brief period of dread. Starting the season 11-0, the top-ranked Tide suffered a 26-14 loss to Auburn in the final game of the regular season, costing it a spot in the SEC Championship Game as well as possibly a place in the College Football Playoff.

Alabama had been ranked No. 1 all season. However, the loss placed its destiny in the hands of the playoff committee, who was tasked with choosing between the Tide and Big Ten champion Ohio State.

“Once we lost to Auburn, we all hung out that night and we were like, ‘There’s no way we make it to the playoff,’” Pierschbacher recalled. “We just figured we had lost too late in the season.”

However, the following week it was Alabama’s name that flashed across the screen as ESPN revealed the four playoff participants.

“Once we got put in, we knew we weren’t going to lose,” Pierschbacher said. “We had overcome so much with injuries and people playing at different spots. We knew we had to get it done.”

Early against Georgia, that didn’t appear to be the case. Alabama’s offense sputtered under struggling quarterback Jalen Hurts, who completed 3 of 8 passes for 21 yards while leading five scoreless first-half drives. Meanwhile, the Tide’s normally-steady defense began to crack as timely passes from Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm allowed the Bulldogs to build a 13-0 lead heading into the half.

Alabama fans fondly remember what happened from there.

Pierschbacher doesn’t recall Alabama’s coaches announcing the switch from Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa at halftime. It just kind of happened. The lineman remembers seeing Saban address both quarterbacks prior to the correctional period but wasn’t completely aware of the change until the offense met as a team.

“In the locker room at halftime they set it up where the starting five offensive linemen are in the front of the room, the receivers are to the side and the quarterbacks are up front right next to us,” Pierschbacher explained. “Tua was the one up there, so we were like ‘all right we are doing this.’”

After an initial three-and-out, Tagovailoa took hold of the Tide’s offense, completing four straight passes capped off by a 6-yard touchdown to Henry Ruggs as part of a seven-play drive to cut the score to 13-7.

“I remember he just started slinging it,” Pierschbacher said. “It was just, boom, boom, boom, getting the ball out of his hands. As an offensive lineman, you love that. Once we had that drive, we felt like we had them. It felt like we could do that at will.”

From there, Tagovailoa helped Alabama chip away at the lead, leading the Tide to two field goals before embarking on a game-tying drive midway through the fourth quarter. His 7-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley on fourth-and-4 helped complete the comeback with 3:21 remaining.

After forcing Georgia into a three-and-out on its next possession, Alabama was able to position itself for a potential game-winning field goal. However, Andy Pappanastos’ 36-yard attempt sailed woefully to the left, sending the game to overtime.

“Once he missed that, we came off and we were all talking to each other,” Pierschbacher said. “It was me, Boze, J.C (Hassenauer), all those guys, we were like, ‘This just means we have more time together as a team.”

Pierschbacher’s next moment on the field was a forgettable one as he and left tackle Alex Leatherwood allowed Georgia pass rushers Jonathan Ledbetter and Davin Bellamy to sack Tagovailoa for a 16-yard loss. The next snap was far more memorable.

Facing a second-and-26 from the 41-yard line, Alabama called its now-famous “Seattle” play as all four of its receivers ran vertical routes. More importantly for Pierschbacher, the call involved the same blocking formation as the one before, once again matching him and Leatherwood against Ledbetter and Bellamy.

“In my mind I’m like, ‘Don’t be that guy. We can’t give up another sack here,’” Pierschbacher said. “Fortunately, we stepped back and had good protection.

“Tua flings it, and I think it’s going to be an incompletion. I’m like, ‘Who’s even there?’ I see the ball launch, and I’m like, ‘No way.’ Then Smitty goes underneath it and the rest is history.”

From there, Pierschbacher’s memory is clouded by celebration. Bozeman got his girl and the Tide got its title, just as destiny intended.