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Georgia and Alabama are set to clash at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa in one of the most anticipated games of the 2024 college football season. It is time to continue our college football odds series with a Georgia-Alabama prediction and pick.
The Bulldogs are coming off a bye week, which may have been important after squeaking by with a 13-12 win at Kentucky. Carson Beck and the Georgia offense posted just 262 total yards in the game, and they'll look for a breakout performance in this matchup.
As for the Crimson Tide, they also had the week off to prepare for this heavyweight showdown. Alabama has notched blowout wins against Western Kentucky (63-0), South Florida (42-16), and Wisconsin (42-10) to start the Kalen DeBoer era.
Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Georgia-Alabama Odds
Georgia: -1.5 (-115)
Moneyline: -128
Alabama: +1.5 (-105)
Moneyline: +106
Over: 48.5 (-110)
Under: 48.5 (-110)
How to Watch Georgia vs. Alabama
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT
TV: ABC
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Georgia Could Cover The Spread/Win
As a wise man once said, to be the man, you've got to beat the man.
Guess what? No college football team has beaten Georgia in the regular season since Florida did it all the way back on November 7, 2020. The Bulldogs have won 42 straight regular-season games since that point, so that's an easy place to start when trying to find a reason why they'll win again. That's just what Georgia does under Kirby Smart.
Of course, we also know that defense has been a specialty. That trend has predictably continued this season, with the Bulldogs allowing just 18 total points through three games. More notably, all of those points have come via field goals. No opponent has scored a touchdown, which tells you all you need to know about this defense.
Georgia ranks in the top 10 nationally in a plethora of statistical categories – second in passing yards per game (91.3), third in scoring defense (6.0 PPG), fourth in yards per completion (7.4), fifth in yards per pass attempt (4.2), sixth in yards per play (3.5), and seventh in yards per game allowed (202.0).
The Bulldogs will face the best offense it has seen thus far, but keep in mind that those stats apply to games where Georgia faced ACC contender Clemson and SEC foe Kentucky. Alabama is more explosive offensively than both, yet it's going to be a huge challenge to break through against this group.
Another stat that matters in this game: While Carson Beck and the Georgia offense aren't quite where they want to be just yet, they haven't turned the ball over once in three games. Indiana and Louisville are the only other teams without a turnover.
That's another good trend for the Bulldogs.
Why Alabama Could Cover The Spread/Win
There is one team that has cracked the code when it comes to Georgia's recent dominance. That team is Alabama.
The Crimson Tide have won eight of the last nine games in the series, and they defeated the Bulldogs in the SEC title game a season ago to keep Smart's squad out of the College Football Playoff. Obviously, all of those wins were under Nick Saban and not DeBoer, but Alabama has still been the arch nemesis for its SEC rival.
As for this season's matchup, what stands out is how Alabama could slow down a Georgia offense that, again, hasn't been what people thought it would be through the first month of the season. The Tide is the nation's best in allowing only 3.2 yards per pass attempt and 6.2 yards per completion, and overall, they're allowing only 3.4 yards per play (fourth nationally).
If Beck and company can't get going, Alabama can do exactly what it wants and that's run the football and control the game with its defense.
And to beat a team with a 42-game regular season winning streak, you need huge plays. Jalen Milroe has proven himself as one of the best at doing that by racking up 590 passing yards, 156 rushing yards, and 14 total touchdowns through three games. He has also had help, with eight other players contributing plays of 20 or more yards this season.
Field goals won't get it done, and the Tide should have a bit more success finding the end zone than the other teams Georgia has played.
Final Georgia-Alabama Prediction & Pick
We've seen this movie before with Georgia.
Everyone points out the Bulldogs' potential flaws early in the season, and then they turn it on. Two seasons ago, it was escaping with a 26-22 win in Week 5 at Missouri. Last season, it was rallying from a double-digit deficit to defeat South Carolina 24-14 in Week 3. This season, it was the head-scratching one-point victory at Kentucky in Week 3.
Alabama is an elite team, but Georgia has revenge on its mind.
The Bulldogs find a way to win yet again.
Final Georgia-Alabama Prediction & Pick: Georgia -1.5 (-115)
