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Murray State Racers vs. Georgia Bulldogs Pick

by Keith Franks | Last updated Sep 4, 2019 | cfb

Murray State Racers (1-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS)
When: Saturday, September 7th, 2019 – 4:00 PM ET
Where: Sanford Stadium – Athens, GA
TV: ESPN2

Point Spread: MURRAY +49 / DAWGS -49
Total: Off
Power Ratings: N/A

Takeaways From Week One

The Racers come into this contest off the heels of an impressive 59-20 victory last week against the Pikeville Bears when they hosted UPike on Friday, August 30th in a primetime bout. The Racers come into the 2019-20 college football season on the heels of a 5-6 effort attained in their 2018-19 campaign as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in FCS ball.

As a whole, the Bulldogs look impressive in many facets in their Week One debut in Nashville against divisional rival Vanderbilt. The Dawgs cruised to a 30-6 victory where Georgia looked dominant throughout. The most impressive element to Georgia’s game was undoubtedly their defense which did not allow a touchdown and their running game which generated 325 total rushing yards. Heisman hopeful DeAndre Swift led the way 149 running yards on 16 carries. A key talking point for Coach Kirby Smart heading into Week Two is limiting costly penalties as the Dawgs racked up 10 for 117 yards against the Commodores.

How the Public is Betting The Georgia-Murray State Game

At the time this article was written (Tuesday morning) there have been no notable line movements in against the spread markets.

More Picks: BYU at TENN Point Spread Pick>>>

The Historicals

Georgia and Murray State have no recent meetings between the two sides.

Injury Concerns

The Dawgs will be without Wide Receiver Kearis Jackson who sustained a broken hand in Georgia’s season opener at Vanderbilt. KJ will be shelved for three to four weeks. His absence tests the Dawgs’ depth at wide receiver, but nevertheless, newcomer five-star recruit freshman Dominick Blaylock is expected to see enhanced snaps in Jackson’s absence.

Betting Trends

Dating back to last season, the Bulldogs have gone 3-1 ATS in their previous four games. Between these two squads that are no tangible betting trends given their lack of meetings with each other.

Why We Like The Dawgs To Cover

This line is one of the biggest the Dawgs have had to face in recent history. However, ESPN would argue that this number is right where it should be as they priced the Dawgs as a 48.5-point favorite against the Racers. Saturday is going to be a special day in Athens for the Bulldogs as it is their home opener and also the day they honor legendary coach Vince Dooley by naming the football field after him in a dedication ceremony. After Saturday, the Dawgs will play at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium. Dooley was the architect and leader of the fabled 1980 Georgia Bulldogs, the last team to win a national championship. Georgia has cemented itself as a College Football Playoff contender and a team that many like as the next team to win the national title. I can’t think of a better way to quantify those superlatives while paying homage to Coach Dooley by laying waste to Murray State.

Keith’s Pick to Cover the Spread: Georgia -49

There were undoubtedly murmurs amongst Bulldog enthusiasts in Week One as some have dared to proclaim that Georgia did not look like the No. 3 team in America. I am not one of those people. Nevertheless, the Dawgs did commit some costly mental errors that did, in fact, result in them leaving points on the table against the Commodores. The Bulldogs also seemed to get a bit complacent and take their foot off the gas in the second half after going up 21-0 against Vandy in the first half. I don’t expect that to happen again. I expect the Bulldogs to play a more complete game in Week Two and they have the benefit of doing so against a much weaker opponent compared to Vanderbilt. The fact remains that the Dawgs looked dominant even if their opening game featured some of the hiccups and jitters that pretty much all teams endure when they take the field for their first fixture. Georgia will implement a steady dose of DeAndre Swift, Brian Herrien, and Zamir White behind their Great Wall of Georgia offensive line and I expect multiple backs to find pay-dirt in this one. If what happened last week in Maryland could serve as any metric of what could possibly happen (The Terps laid waste to Howard 79-0), there is no reason to suspect the Dawgs cannot produce a cover here as the defense could easily pitch a shutout and their offense could light up a comparatively weaker Murray State defense.