Alabama at Georgia Odds

Written by Jimmy Boyd

The No. 8 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide head to the Dawg pound to take on the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs on ESPN in what will be each team’s biggest test of the season. Both team’s enter this Saturday’s contest unbeaten at 4-0. The betting line on the game is listed at -6 in favor of the home Bulldogs by Bookmaker odds makers. Jimmy Boyd will discuss both sides of this big time SEC showdown to help you better handicap the affair.

Prior to the season, Georgia knew it would have to beat a number of top-10 ranked SEC opponents if it was going to earn a SEC title. Head coach Mark Richt probably didn’t think the Tide would be one of them. Nick Saban’s Alabama team appears to be ahead of schedule in the rebuilding process and is running up the score on its early schedule. We’re only five weeks into the season, but a loss in this game for either team likely ruins any SEC title or national championship hopes.

Georgia started the year as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team and knew it would be quite the accoplishment to still be there at year’s end as its schedule is daunting. Last week, Georgia took its longest road trip in 48 years when it headed west to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. ASU was No. 15 in the preseason poll after sharing the Pac-10 title with USC a season ago and figured to give Georgia a major test. That was hardly the case. Heisman Trophy candidate Knowshon Moreno ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns and QB Matthew Stafford threw for 285 yards and a touchdown as the Dawgs went on to win in convincing fashion 27-10. This week’s matchup should present an even tougher challenge for the Bulldogs.

The Crimson Tide began the season ranked No. 24 in the preseason poll, but have quickly jumped into the top 10 with steady progress each week. A 34-10 thrashing of preseason No. 9 Clemson is the biggest reason why Bama has jumped up the charts so quickly. After a sloppy win over Tulane the following week, the Tide has rattled off a pair of impressive blowout wins over Western Kentucky and Arkansas.

Arkansas was led by Glen Coffee’s 162 yards and two scores in last Saturday’s rout of Arkansas. Coffee is gaining a staggering 8.6 yards per carry to rank sixth in the country among players who average at least 10 carries per game. The junior set an Alabama record by averaging 16.2 yards per attempt last week. Interestingly enough though, Coffee will be the second-leading rusher on the field Saturday as Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno has ran all over the field in the early going. Moreno leads the SEC with 455 rushing yards and is third in the country with nine touchdowns.

Saban’s Tide did a pretty good job against Moreno a season ago, limiting him to 74 yards in an overtime loss. The Tide know that keeping his production down again is imperative to being in the football game.

Alabama may go to the air this week to try to get a quick strike or two on the Dawgs early with their talented group of receivers, led by freshman Julio Jones, the top wideout recruit in the country. Jones is Bama’s leading receiver through four games with 11 catches for 132 yards and has scored a touchdown in three of the four games.

Georgia and Alabama have met five times when both teams were ranked with the Bulldogs winning all five of those meetings. Georgia has also won three straight over the Tide since getting trounced 31-0 in Athens in 1995.

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