The upcoming matchup between No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia will draw plenty of attention over the next two weeks. However, neither team has yet to shift their focus on preparing for the other as they both face open dates on their schedule this week.

During Wednesday’s SEC teleconference Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart were both asked how they are preparing their teams for next week’s top-five clash next week inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Following last weekend’s game win over Wisconsin, DeBoer gave his players the beginning of the week off from practice. The Tide will hit the field Thursday and will begin to prepare for Georgia from there.

“The staff is into that with game planning and the breakdowns,” DeBoer said on the teleconference. “Our players are doing some workouts, but we’ll get into a little bit and introduce what we’re going to see starting tomorrow and Friday. We’ll give our guys Saturday away from the facility and get back to it again Sunday.”

Smart said Georgia has practiced Monday and Tuesday following its win over Kentucky last weekend. However, the Bulldogs have yet to focus specifically on the Tide.

“We haven’t started on Alabama yet,” Smart said. “We’re working on us right now. Our typical protocol is to work on all the opponents we have further out, and as the week goes we begin honing in on that. We actually worked on other opponents yesterday. We’re going to work on some opponents coming up today, and we begin our Alabama work tomorrow.”

Unlike most years, this season’s schedule features two open dates. Alabama will also be off on Nov. 2 ahead of its Nov. 9 game at LSU. Meanwhile, Georgia will have another open date on Oct. 26 before its Nov. 2 game against Florida.

Monday, DeBoer said the extra off week will benefit his team as it will give players to relax and decompress heading into SEC play.

“I know it's only been three games in the season, but they've been going for seven weeks as of tomorrow when it comes to practices,” DeBoer said. “This little time here where they can take care of some school and kind of get caught up, or just make sure they're on pace and working ahead even in those areas that are away from football, and knock that out, so they can do what they love and not have any distractions.”

Smart called the early open date “different,” stating it will be critical for his staff to manage it the right way.

“Are all bye weeks the same? Are all bye weeks created equal?” Smart questioned on Wednesday’s teleconference. “We had to go back and look to the last time we had two in one season and how we used those and where they fall. Bye weeks serve difference purposes, and I think ours fall at two very different and distinct times, so we will treat them very differently in how we utilize them.”

Alabama (3-0) and Georgia (3-0) will meet on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC.