Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) +6.5, 45 O/U at Georgia Bulldogs (4-0)
-6.5, 45 O/U, Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia, 7:45 PM Eastern,
Saturday
by Badger of Predictem.com
There is certainly no love lost between the No. 3 ranked Georgia
Bulldogs and the No. 8 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, and these two
undefeated teams renew their heated rivalry with perhaps the biggest
game in the history of the series in Sanford Stadium in Athens
Saturday night.
Early in the week the gamesmanship began when Georgia head coach Mark
Richt announced to the media that the Bulldogs would be wearing their
all-black uniforms, calling for fans to also black-out Sanford
Stadium for the big game versus the Tide.
Alabama countered later in the week when defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, a former Bulldog safety, claimed his alma mater was wearing
all black because they were going to a *#@#*-ing funeral.
It doesnt get any hotter than this.
Online Sportsbooks opened the game between the two undefeated SEC schools
with the home Bulldogs as 7.5-point favorites, but the number has
dropped to 6.5-point favorites after early betting. The over/under
total opened at 44.5 and is up a hook to its current number of 45.
The moneyline list Georgia as -270 favorites, with Bama as +230
underdogs.
Both teams enter the game undefeated and off of impressive wins
versus quality competition.
Georgia went on the road last week to Arizona State and defeated the
Sun Devils in the Valley of the Sun by a score of 27-10. Knowshon
Moreno ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the victory, and
receiver A.J. Green has 159 yards and a score as the Bulldogs never
really were threatened by the Devils.
Alabama enters Saturdays contest fresh off of a route of Arkansas last weekend, 49-14. Bama running back Glen Coffee dashed for 162
yards and two scores, with an unbelievable 16.2 yards per carry and
an 87-yard touchdown scamper in the game versus a total overmatched
Hogs defense.
But as good as both running backs have been for the respective teams,
it could come down to a freshman receiver on Saturday as both teams
have strong candidates.
Green is averaging 18.8 yards a catch and had his official coming out
party versus Arizona last week. But Green isnt even the biggest
freshman name in the game Saturday, as Bamas Julio Jones was
considered by many the nations top recruit last season and is having
a solid but not spectacular first season so far with three touchdowns
in his first four games.
Defensively the game will hinge on Alabamas ability to stop Moreno.
The Tide is ranked 8th in the country allowing just 55 yards per
game, with their showcase game coming in the opener when the shut
down Clemsons two-head attack of Spiller and Davis. The Tide is also
8th in points allowed, with a 9.2 ppg average.
As good as Alabama is versus the run, Georgia is better with just a 45.8 yards per game average putting them at 4th in the land. They do
tend to give up big yards passing (229.2 ypg 86th), so it will be
interesting to see if Bama quarterback John Parker Wilson can take
advantage of that.
Last season the Bulldogs kicked a field goal in overtime to beat the
Tide, 26-23, on the road to notch their third straight victory in the
series (they covered the number in three straight as well). All three
of those games came in over the total too. And something else to chew
on, these two teams have met five times before when both were ranked
and Georgia won all five games.
So far both teams have been sweet for bettors, as the Bulldogs are
2-0-1 ATS while the Tide is 3-1 ATS. Both teams are hot too, as Bama
is 4-1 ATS in their last five overall, while Georgia is 6-0-1 ATS in
their last seven played overall.
But Alabama is only 2-6 ATS in their last eight SEC games, while the Dogs sport a 5-2-1 ATS record in their last eight in the SEC.
Badgers Pick: I usually like to just watch these big games, rather
than bet on them but who can resist a Nick Saban coached team getting +6.5 points? Take the Crimson Tide who will leave George with a straight up win!
