Alabama Listed as a 10-Point Favorite over the Georgia Bulldogs
ATHENS - For only the third time this decade Georgia is considered a double-digit underdog.
On Sunday No. 4 Georgia opened as a 10-point underdog to Alabama. The Bulldogs have not been that big an underdog since 2016. The 10-point line means the Bulldogs have about a 24% chance to win the game.
Georgia has not been a 10-point underdog since 2016, when the unranked Bulldogs took out No. 8 Auburn 13-7 in Athens. No. 12 UGA was a 13-point underdog to No. 1 LSU in the 2011 SEC Championship Game, and lost 42-10 in a game it was leading in the third quarter.
Alabama was a 3.5-point favorite over Georgia in January when the Tide escaped with a 26-23 overtime win for the national title in Atlanta. This is the lowest Alabama has been favored by this season. The Tide is 8-4 against the spread. Georgia is 7-5.
This is the largest line in this series since No. 11 Georgia beat Alabama 37-23 in Athens in 2003.
Since 1994, the Dawgs have on average been a 0.67-point favorite to beat the Tide.
Georgia continues to be highly ranked. Under Kirby Smart, after the win over Georgia Tech, ranked UGA teams are 20-0 against unranked teams - winning by an average score of 39-14. In five of those 20 contests the opposing team scored ten points or fewer. In ten of those games the Bulldogs scored 41 points or more.
With the win over to No. 11 Kentucky, Kirby Smart is 9-6 overall against ranked teams, and 4-2 against top-ten teams.
THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
This season got wild right at the end. Oklahoma and Ohio State are now in striking distance of the CFP. Both will be rooting hard for Alabama. Notre Dame completed an undefeated season and will participate for the first time in the CFP.
The winner of the UGA-Alabama game will play in the CFP. The loser is not assured a spot. Clemson is a 24-point favorite over Pitt, and the Tigers should ease on into another CFP thanks to a weak ACC, which has only one other conference team ranked in the AP Top 25.
UCF would need chaos the likes of which the sport has never seen to have an argument to get into the CPF, and even then the loser of the SEC Championship Game would likely still get the nod over the Knights.
TELL ME ABOUT THEM DAWGS
Georgia jumped past ESPN darlings Michigan this week to No. 4 in this week’s AP poll. Meanwhile, in every game the Bulldogs have won, Georgia has done so by double digits. Alabama can say the same thing… and then some. Georgia will play No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship on December 1. It is a rematch of the 2018 College Football Playoff Championship Game.
Same building. Same jersey combinations (UGA in red). Different TV network.
WITH A SHIVER IN MY BONES JUST THINKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
The rain never arrived this season - even with all of the possibilities of it in a few different games. There will be no weather to worry about this game as the contest will be indoors.