No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs Open as a 27.5-point favorite over Vanderbilt
ATHENS - Dean Legge’s guide for betters heading into this weekend’s game with Vanderbilt.
No. 2 Georgia opened as a 27.5-point favorite vs. Vanderbilt on Sunday. The 27.5-point line means the Bulldogs have an 97.5% chance to win the game. It is one of the largest spread for UGA against SEC foes in history (2014 No. 13 UGA vs. Vanderbilt). Georgia didn’t cover a 32-point line on Saturday against Tennessee.
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This is one of the largest lines the Bulldogs will have to cover against Vanderbilt in the last 25 seasons.
The average line for this game is UGA -16.3. Vanderbilt has not been favored to beat the Bulldogs once in the last 25 years. The three Vandy victories came when the Bulldogs were favored by 20, 14, 6 and 14 points (1994, 2006, 2013 and 2016). Georgia is 11-13 ATS vs. Vanderbilt since 1994.
The No. 2 Bulldogs being favored by 27.5 is the second-largest line in UGA-Vandy history behind only the 2014 game where the Dawgs were favored by 33 (No. 13 UGA beat Vanderbilt 44-17 in Athens).
Like much of the previous few decades, Georgia is facing Vanderbilt a week after playing Tennessee. Georgia is 16-2 straight up in those games. The Bulldogs are 15-2 in the last 25 years as a ranked team against Vanderbilt (2006 and 2013).
After No. 2 Georgia’s 38-12 win over Tennessee, UGA is 16-1 all time in games straight up where the Bulldogs are favored by 20 points or more (1994 Vanderbilt +20). Most recently, Georgia (-26) beat Kentucky 59-17 in 2013 in Athens.
Georgia continues to be highly ranked. Under Kirby Smart, ranked UGA teams are 16-0 against unranked teams - winning by an average score of 39-14. In five of those 16 contests the opposing team scored ten points or fewer. In eight of those games the Bulldogs scored 42 points or more.
With the win over No. 24 South Carolina. Georgia is now 27-50-4 against ranked teams on the road. Kirby Smart is 2-2 against ranked teams on the road and 7-5 overall against ranked teams.
TELL ME ABOUT THEM DAWGS
Georgia maintained its No. 2 ranking in this week’s AP Poll. The Dawgs are ranked No. 2 in this week’s AP Poll. Clemson slipped to No. 4 after escaping Syracuse as a massive favorite. No. 3 Ohio State, which came back from 14 down late to beat Penn State, Georgia’s lead over the Buckeyes is ten points - about the lead it had over Clemson the previous two weeks.
All time Georgia is 10–2 as the No. 2 team in the country.
I know this part of the article is “about them Dawgs”, but let’s take a quick peek at the national landscape.
Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama all three have had solid starts to the season. All three are undefeated and ranked in the top three of the AP poll. Georgia and Alabama have won each game they’ve played by at least two touchdowns. Ohio State has played a more challenging schedule (with the trip to Penn State) than the Dawgs and Tide - and have had a more exciting start to the year to be sure.
Meanwhile, Clemson, which started the season No. 2, has now slipped to No. 4. Two of the Tigers’ five wins have come by a combined five points. It is possible Clemson won’t play a ranked team this season. No. 5. LSU has to deal with the Gators this weekend, and UGA after that.
No. 6 Notre Dame took a convincing win over Stanford on Saturday that washed away a horrible performance against Vanderbilt two weeks ago. The Irish play at No. 24 Virginia Tech this week and need Syracuse and USC to stay relevant for the end of the season.
No. 7 Oklahoma looks more back to normal after a questionable performance last Saturday vs. Navy. The Sooners get suddenly-surging Texas this week in Dallas. Fellow Big 12 contender West Virginia might be the team everyone has forgotten about. The Mountaineers have failed to score 40 points or more only once. November, which features games with Texas, Oklahoma and TCU will make or break WVU.
No. 8 Auburn is still hanging around, but has to stay clean the rest of the way. The same goes for No. 10 Washington.
Meanwhile, Mighty No. 13 Kentucky is flexing its muscle. This weekend at Texas A&M will tell us even more about the Cats. If they beat the Aggies look out.
A top-five matchup between No. 2 UGA and No. 5 LSU in on the horizon it seems. CBS doesn’t need anything dumb to happen before that clash. Georgia will host Vanderbilt while LSU travels to the Gators this weekend.
I expect CBS to announce its selection of UGA-LSU Monday around lunch.
It isn’t out of the question that UGA-LSU could be the No. 2 or No. 3 overall regular season TV game in 2018 when it is all said and done. Right now Ohio State-Penn State is the No. 1 TV game of the year. LSU-UGA won’t be primetime, but it very well could get near the 8 million-viewer mark if both teams survive this weekend and are 6-0 entering Baton Rouge.
WITH A SHIVER IN MY BONES JUST THINKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
The Googles tells us that that in the hour of kickoff this Saturday in Athens we should expect it to by sunny just before nightfall. There is a 3% chance of rain for the game. Kickoff should check in around 80 degrees. The close of the game should be about 72 degrees - that would be the coldest temperature UGA has played in so far this season. Wind for the game is set to be nominal.
