Georgia at Vanderbilt Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The Georgia Bulldogs have reeled off four straight victories. They will be looking to make it five in a row Saturday when they travel to face Vanderbilt in an SEC East showdown. The Bulldogs have won four straight over the Commodores in this head-to-head series. Georgia shut out Vanderbilt 43-0 at home last year, but they will be facing a much-improved team on the opposite side of the field this weekend.

According to the latest college football spreads, Georgia is an 11-point favorite and the total is set at 41.

Georgia

The Bulldogs could not have opened with a much more difficult schedule their first two weeks. They were beat by then-No. 5 Boise State 35-21 and then-No. 12 South Carolina 45-42. Georgia (4-2, 3-1 SEC) has responded with four straight wins, including a 20-12 road victory at Tennessee last Saturday. They outgained the Vols 366-270 while holding them to minus-20 rushing yards. Freshman running back Isaiah Crowell scored both of Georgia’s touchdowns.

Georgia has been dominant on defense since the first two weeks. They rank 6th in the country in total defense (260.5 yards/game) and 20th in scoring defense (19.2 points/game). Their offense has been sharp as well, ranking 56th in the nation in total offense (405.8 yards/game) and 47th in scoring offense (32.2 points/game).

Sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray has picked up right where he left off last season. He is completing 61.3 percent of his passes for 1,327 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. Crowell has been as good as advertised, leading the team with 573 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Malcolm Mitchell (25 receptions, 438 yards, three TD), Orson Charles (17, 266, four TD) and Tavarres King (17, 189, three TD) have been Murray’s favorite targets. Mitchell is doubtful to play Saturday with a hamstring injury.

Vanderbilt

The Commodores came into the season as the most experienced team in the SEC. That experience has helped them turn things around this year. Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-2 SEC) opened the season 3-0 before back-to-back losses to Top 25 opponents. They fell 21-3 to then-No. 12 South Carolina before getting throttled 34-0 by then-No. 2 Alabama last week. The Crimson Tide held a 419-190 yard edge and capitalized on a pair of Commodores turnovers.

Jordan Rodgers replaced starter Larry Smith in the first half and played the rest of the way, throwing two interceptions. Smith went out with a lower leg injury, and head coach James Franklin said he will have an open competition between these two in practice this week to see which one will earn the starting job against Georgia. Whoever is under center will be trying to spark an offense that ranks 116th in total yards (244.4/game).

Smith has completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 457 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Zac Stacy (284 yards, one TD) and Jerron Seymour (159 yards, two TD) have been carrying the load on the ground while Vanderbilt awaits the return of starting running back, Warren Norman. He has missed the last four games with a knee injury and is questionable to return Saturday. The Commodores will be relying on a defense that ranks 21st in total yards (307.2/game) and 22nd in scoring (19.4 points/game) to keep them in the game this weekend.

Betting Trends

The road team is 11-5 ATS in the last 16 meetings, and Georgia is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 meetings in Vanderbilt. The Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in this series as well.

The Commodores are just 6-13 ATS in their last 19 home games, 1-7 ATS in their last 8 vs. a team with a winning record, and 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog.

The Bulldogs are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite, and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite of 10.5 points or more. However, Georgia is only 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning record.

If you want to cash in on the college gridiron in Week 7, then check out what expert handicapper Jack Jones has in store.

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