SEC Championship Preview, Georgia vs Alabama Betting Lines, Prediction

The SEC regular season wrapped up last weekend after an exciting year and one of the biggest conference championship matchups in league history takes place on Saturday when Georgia takes on Alabama in Atlanta.

Alabama was the early season favorite to repeat as National Champions until they dropped a road game against Texas A&M in Week 6 41-38. Georgia took over the top spot after week 6 and finished off the regular season 12-0 as they put up one of the most dominant defensive seasons in college football history.

Alabama’s 93 Game Betting Favorite Streak Ends

Line: Georgia -6.5

Georgia is nearly a touchdown favorite over a Crimson Tide squad that has not been an underdog since a 2015 matchup against Georgia, where they went on to beat Georgia 38-10 on the road. Nick Saban is the best college football coach of all time and he is likely using the underdog role as a major motivating factor to get the Tide fired up for the SEC title game. Head over to our Bookmakers page if you want to get in on the last week of SEC action.

Check out BetMGM or Bet365  for the latest odds on the SEC Title Game

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What to Watch For

Alabama hopes to pull off the upset in Atlanta and advance to the CFP

Bryce Young’s Heisman Chances

Alabama QB Bryce Young is the Heisman favorite heading into the SEC title game and will likely need to help the Tide pull off the upset to bring the Heisman back to Tuscaloosa. If the Tide gets blown out by Georgia voters will likely have a tough time voting in Young to win the award if they get destroyed by Georgia in Atlanta. If Young leads Alabama to the upset the Heisman is likely his and if Alabama loses a close game and Young plays well he still has a great shot to win it.

Georgia QB Stetson Bennet vs. Tide Defense

Georgia’s defense has been the story all year for the Bulldogs which has made Georgia QB Stetson Bennet’s much easier since he hasn’t had to play from behind. Georgia has relied on a strong rushing attack that put up over 2400 yards on the ground throughout the course of the season. Alabama has a defensive line that is loaded with 4 and 5-star recruits and will likely be able to slow down the Bulldog rushing attack. It will be very interesting to monitor how Bennett plays if Alabama gets out to a lead early and Bennett needs to carry the load.

Nick Saban vs. Kirby Smart

Kirby Smart is a Georgia alum who spent time as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007 to 2015 and then left to return to his alma mater to serve as Head Coach. Smart has been recruiting at top 3 levels since he has been in Athens, and his hard work is paying off this year as Georgia’s talent level seems like a step above the rest of college football. Could this be an official changing of the guard where Georgia takes the crown from Alabama as the next power in the SEC and Smart becomes the top coach in the SEC?  Georgia has the advantage of having one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country in Atlanta with very little in-state competition for recruits while Alabama has Auburn less than 200 miles away fighting over the same recruits.

Georgia is cap off their magical season with a Title

Prediction

While Georgia deserves a ton of credit for their remarkable season this year, a deep dive into their schedule will generate some questions about who Georgia has actually beat this season. Georgia got an early-season win over Clemson which at the time seemed huge, but Clemson ended up with a few losses and is currently ranked 20th in the country. The other big wins for Georgia were over Auburn, Arkansas, and Kentucky, who ended the season with a combined 133 losses. Georgia has the better overall team but I think you want to bet against Nick Saban in a game like this. Alabama will likely use Bryce Young’s athleticism to get out of the pocket and keep the Georgia Defense off balance and I think Alabama pulls off the upset to set the stage for a rematch in the College Football Playoffs.