Georgia survived its first SEC road test at South Carolina and went cross-country to take a victory over Arizona State of the Pac-10, but tonight the Bulldogs face their toughest test to date when the revived Crimson Tide of Alabama rolls into Athens.

The nationally televised contest marks just the sixth time in history the matchup has been a battle of ranked teams, with Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC) coming in at No. 3 and Alabama (4-0, 1-0) ranked No. 8.

UGA boss Mark Richt has designated it a “blackout” game, meaning his club will don black jerseys and try to remain perfect in the non-traditional attire.

The Bulldogs wore black in resounding victories over Auburn and Hawaii last season, but Richt realizes it’ll take more than fashion to keep his squad unbeaten.

“We are playing a great team— a top 10 team and one that is coached by one of the finest coaches in America,” Richt said. “They are number one in the conference in rushing offense, number two in scoring offense, number three in scoring defense, number three in rushing defense, number three in total defense and number one in fourth down conversions. They have scored 64 points in the first quarter to zero. They have been tested, they just have whipped everybody so bad it didn’t seem like they were.”

Alabama is averaging 36 points per game to 35.5 for Georgia, while Nick Saban’s team is allowing 9.2 points per outing to 13.8 for the Bulldogs.

And as complimentary as Richt is toward today’s foe, Saban is equally impressed with UGA.

“Georgia has an outstanding team,” Saban said. “Undoubtedly one of the best teams in the country, top two or three for sure. A team that has been pretty dominant in the way they have played all season long on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Mark Richt is an outstanding coach and has done a good job there.”

The Bulldogs’ toughest battle came against USC, where they pulled off a 14-7 victory in a game marred by penalties and mistakes.

Alabama, oddly enough, struggled in a 20-6 win over Tulane — a game that came a week after the Tide dismantled Clemson.

Both teams, however, seem to be hitting their stride now.

Georgia is scoring at a 94 percent clip in the Red Zone with 12 touchdowns and three field goals, with the only zero coming last week against the Sun Devils — when the Bulldogs ran out the clock on the 1.

Tailback Knowshon Moreno leads the charge with a 113.8-yard per game rushing average and nine touchdowns, while quarterback Matthew Stafford has five TDs with no interceptions and 919 yards.

A bevy of receivers has aided Stafford’s cause, with freshman flanker A.J Green setting the pace with 16 catches, 300 yards and two scores.

Still, none of those numbers came against a defense as strong as Alabama’s.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Moreno said. “They have some big linebackers and some big defensive linemen that can really move around and make plays. It’s going to be a contest. We really have our work piled up for us this week, so we have to stay focused.”

The Crimson Tide has a stable of good running backs including Glen Coffee, who has rushed for 404 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Quarterback John Parker Wilson is completing 59.6 percent of his passes for 542 yards and five TDs, and freshman receiver Julio Jones has become his go-to guy.

Big play threat Javier Arenas has already returned a punt for a touchdown and boasts 224 return yards.

A team that was predicted to be an also-ran in the SEC West in 2008 has proven to be well ahead of the curve.

“I know Alabama is going to run the ball,” said linebacker Darryl Gamble. “We’ve been doing a pretty good job of stopping the run this year, but it will be a good test for us. All the guys are taking on blocks and a lot of people have been showing up and I think as a whole we are playing together.”

On paper the contest shapes up to be a close affair. And while a loss would hardly doom the seasons of either team, a victory would give the winner a leg up on making a run toward Atlanta in December.

“They are a very dangerous team; a team that is very hot and confident as they should be,” Richt said. “Last year’s game was two teams evenly matched. It ended up going into overtime. We made one more play than they did, and that was the end of it. I can’t imagine it will be any different than it was a year ago.”