LSU vs Georgia Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The top-ranked LSU Tigers face the No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game on Saturday, December 3rd. LSU will almost surely be playing in the national title game win or lose, but there’s no question they want to try and remain unbeaten and leave nothing to chance. Georgia would assure a berth in a BCS bowl with a victory. The Bulldogs have won three of the last four in this series, though the Tigers won the most recent meeting on the road 20-13 in 2009.

According to the latest college football odds, LSU is a 13-point favorite over Georgia Saturday.

LSU

The Tigers have clearly been the best team in the country. LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC) has gotten through a very tough schedule unblemished, and as a result they have been crowned SEC West champs. That was in jeopardy last weekend when they found themselves behind the Arkansas Razorbacks 14-0 at home. But the Tigers would get it together, coming back to win in a blowout 41-17.

In their win over the Razorbacks, LSU scored three touchdowns in the final 5:15 of the first half to take a 21-14 lead into intermission. One of those scores was a 92-yard punt return by Tyrann Mathieu, who also forced two fumbles on defense. He has now forced six fumbles on the season to go along with three touchdowns. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson played well, completing 18 of 29 passes for 208 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Kenny Hilliard rushed for 108 yards and a score, and Rueben Randle added nine receptions for 134 yards.

LSU ranks 61st in the country in total offense (386.8 yards/game), including 17th in rushing (215.8 yards/game). They also rank 2nd in the land in total defense (248.4 yards/game). They trail only Alabama in that category, who the Tigers will likely face in the national title game. Since returning from suspension, Jefferson is completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 654 yards with five touchdowns and one pick. Michael Ford (721 yards, seven TD) and Spencer Ware (687 yards, eight TD) have led the way on the ground, while Randle leads all receivers with 48 grabs for 889 yards and eight scores.

Georgia

The Bulldogs got off to a shaky start this season, losing their first two games to then-No. 5 Boise State and then-No. 12 South Carolina. Georgia (10-2, 7-1 SEC) hasn’t lost since, and as a result they have been crowned SEC East champs. They earned a spot in the conference title game with a 19-10 victory over Kentucky on November 19th. The Bulldogs would extend their winning streak to 10 with a 31-17 win over then-No. 23 Georgia Tech by a final of 31-17 last Saturday.

Aaron Murray was the catalyst behind their win over the in-state rival Yellow Jackets, throwing for 252 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. The Bulldogs took a 31-10 lead by the end of the third quarter and never looked back. Tight end Orson Charles had five receptions for 95 yards, and four different receivers caught touchdown passes from Murray. Georgia Tech managed 355 total yards, but they committed two turnovers which proved to be costly.

Georgia comes in ranked 35th in the land in total offense (423.7 yards/game) and 5th in total defense (271.1 yards/game). Even after giving up 243 rushing yards to the Yellow Jackets last week, the Bulldogs still rank 6th in the FBS against the run (94.8 yards/game). Their effectiveness in stopping LSU’s ground attack will be a key factor in this game. Murray is completing 61.0 percent of his passes for 2,698 yards with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Freshman Isaiah Crowell leads all running backs with 832 rushing yards and five scores.

Betting Trends

LSU is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall, and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 conference games.

Georgia is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall, but 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog.

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