The Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide meet Saturday in SEC Championship Game college football action from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here’s an Alabama vs Georgia prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Alabama vs Georgia pick.
Georgia Bulldogs Betting Preview
The Bulldogs opened the season with three straight wins over Marshall, Austin Peay and Tennessee before falling versus Alabama on September 27. Since then however, it’s been a flurry of victories for the Bulldogs. Georgia has taken out Kentucky, Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, Mississippi State, Texas, Charlotte and Georgia Tech in succession over the last eight outings. That gives the Bulldogs a nice 11-1 record so far this year.
In the Georgia Tech matchup last Friday, the Bulldogs were down early but posted 13 points in the second quarter. Georgia posted only a field goal from there but still won it 16-9 in the end. Gunner Stockton finished 11-of-21 for 70 yards, one TD and one pick. Nate Frazier added 16 carries for 108 yards, and Zachariah Branch had five catches for 53 yards and a score.
Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview
Over on the Alabama side, they kicked off the season with a surprising loss to Florida State but then took wins over LA-Monroe, Wisconsin, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina and LSU from there. The Tide would lose again to Oklahoma in game 10, but since then they’ve taken out Eastern Illinois and Auburn. Over 12 games this year that gives the Crimson Tide a 10-2 record in the books.
In Saturday’s game versus Auburn, the Tide went into the break with a 17-6 lead. Alabama scored points in every quarter on the way to a nice road rivalry win 27-20. Ty Simpson was 19-of-35 for 122 yards and three scores. Top rusher Jamarion Miller put up 83 yards on 15 carries and Isaiah Horton had five grabs for 35 yards and three touchdowns as the leading receiver in the victory effort for the Tide.
Alabama vs Georgia Prediction
I’ll lean toward Alabama, but realistically you could call this one either way. It should be a great matchup, and it’s anyone’s guess how things will shake out. The Tide barely got past a middling but motivated Auburn team last weekend, notching 280 yards total, 3.8 yards per play, 18 first downs and just 4-of-17 on third-down tries. The eight penalties didn’t help, but the Tigers committed 10 on the other side which more or less canceled them out. Alabama’s defense gave up 411 total yards, 20 first downs and 5.5 yards per play but also had a couple of takeaways along the way to the victory.
As for Georgia, they notched just 260 total yards, 70 passing yards, 3.9 yards per play and 6-of-14 on third downs in their win over Georgia Tech. Thanks to a strong defensive effort however, the Bulldogs were able to take the victory in the end. Georgia gave up just 250 total yards, 14 first downs and 4-of-11 on third-down tries in the win.
The last time these teams met up back on September 27 at Sanford Stadium, Alabama eked out a 24-21 road win. The Tide were excellent on third downs (13-of-19), had zero turnovers and committed just four penalties. It was a very disciplined effort, and they’ll need another one of those in the conference championship game. I could also see Georgia taking this one with a big defensive stand; this game, in all likelihood, will be another close finish.