TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 4 Alabama will face its biggest test in the trenches when it takes on No. 2 Georgia on Saturday. The high-level rivalry is typically won and lost on the backs of the offensive and defensive line.

The Crimson Tide enters Saturday’s game off the back of a few strong performances from its defensive linemen. LT Overton had six tackles and a forced fumble from the Bandit position and was Alabama’s second-highest-graded pass rusher against Wisconsin. Tim Keenan III finished with a strong 76.5 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus against the Badgers and had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in Alabama’s win over South Florida.

While the Tide’s individual performers have stood out throughout portions of the early season, the defensive line unit will need to be in perfect harmony against a stout Georgia offense.

“When we’re on one accord it’s hard to beat us,” Keenan said. “But when somebody’s not necessarily doing their job here or there of course it’s [not] going to be easy. But when we’re one band, one sound, we make some beautiful music.”

Keenan has emerged as a leader of Alabama's defensive line band and is all too familiar with the talent Alabama will face on the other side Saturday. Georgia has an experienced offensive line and a talented crop of running backs led by Florida transfer Trevor Etienne. The junior had 753 yards with the Gators last season and went for 79 yards on 19 carries in Gerogia’s game against Kentucky last week. Freshman Nate Frazier has also stepped up this season with Etienne out for Gerogia's opener against Clemson. Frazier has 113 yards and a touchdown through three games.

“It’s downhill,” Keenan said of the Bulldogs rushing attack. “Ain’t nobody trying to sidestep nobody. It’s SEC running. It’s going to be really tough. We just have to make sure we do what we need to do, follow the coach’s plan, fit the right gaps out, have good gap integrity and we’ll be successful.”

While Alabama’s defense has been stout overall at limiting explosive plays, stopping the run effectively remains one of the biggest areas of improvement. The Tide struggled against a mobile quarterback in Byrum Brown when it faced South Florida. Wisconsin managed to gain 149 yards, including a few gashing runs on the ground, despite becoming far more one-dimensional after starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went down with a knee injury.

As Keenan and Alabama’s defensive line prepares to face a much more versatile offense and a well-designed Georgia scheme, Keenan said the key individually for the Tide’s defensive lineman is executing the basics like hand placements, technique and alignment. As a unit, Alabama's defensive line has been working on playing with more continuity in order to better execute pressures and limit opponents on the ground.

“I think some of the pressures we’ve been running, we have not been as efficient or effective enough to knock out the run,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “Those are bullets that sometimes I use in the run game and when I use those bullets we need to be able to efficiently execute those things and we have not done it to the level that I think we’re capable of.

“Some of that is the growing pains of a new defense, but certainly, we need to have an urgency to take steps forward across the board, and I think we maximized the bye week. But those things have got to show up as we navigate into SEC play.”

The next step for the Crimson Tide is executing its run defense sets more efficiently, while not sacrificing the potential to put pressure on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. The Redshirt Senior is an intelligent player and an accurate passer. Wommack has preached aggressiveness to his defense this season and will need the defensive line to lead that effort to ensure Beck doesn’t get to comfortable in establishing Gerogia’s offense.

“They get the ball out of their hand, they try to establish the run, they get the ball on the perimeter early,” Wommack said. “They will take shots, and they’ll take shots early in the game, but you’ve got to find that fine balance of playing good, sound coverage, and also make it so that the quarterback doesn’t feel like he can sit in the pocket and pick you apart with long developing plays in the passing game.”

Alabama has had some outstanding individual moments from its defensive lineman this season. While the Tide has struggled at times defending the run, its opponents have been limited in creating the potential for explosive plays. Georgia however, will be a significant step up for the Tide’s DL unit. If Georgia establishes the run due to poor execution in the trenches, the Bulldogs will have a much easier time unleashing Beck and the passing game.

Alabama worked on some of the kinks from its band of defensive lineman last week. But will take much more than an individual solo performance if the Crimson Tide wants to stay perfect this season. If Alabama fans hope to sing Dixieland Delight with joy on Saturday night, it's defensive line needs to be playing in perfect harmony.

“I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job,” Keenan said. “Of course, there’s always room for improvement. But just getting better with each game, this game being Game 4. But it’s a big challenge so we’ll see what we’re made of.”