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A marquee game this Saturday as No. 7 Tennessee heads to No. 12 Georgia. The Vols are a decent sized dog here.
Tennessee @ Georgia
Opening Line - This one opened as low as Georgia -7 at some books but shot up to -9 within minutes.
Line Trend - This one quickly jumped to -8.5 and all the way to -10.5 before slipping back to -10.
Sagarin – Sagarin gives us a number of 7.82. There is a noticeable overlay detected here.
Action Trend – Balanced action observed.
Comparables
- Virginia +9 +10.5 Syracuse (dog Virginia covers with Syracuse winning by 2 points) Syracuse 6.24 - Overlay 2.5 to 3.5 - Road dog covers.
- Duke +8 to +10.5 Northwestern (dog wins and covers 31-23) - Road dog covers.
- Patriots +9.5 / +10 /+10.5 Packers (underdog New England covers with Packers 3 point win) Green Bay 6.56 - Overlay 3 to 4 points - Road dog covers.
Important Injury Update
Georgia RB Trevor Etienne has been ruled out against Tennessee with an injury.
The Bulldog's top running back was hurt in a Nov. 2 victory over Florida, though he did get limited carries in a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss last weekend. He finished with 34 yards on nine carries.
Initially listed as questionable for the crucial game against the Volunteers, Etienne was ruled out by Georgia on the injury report filed with the Southeastern Conference on Thursday evening.
Etienne, who is in his first season with the Bulldogs after transferring from Florida, leads Georgia with 477 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. He is averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
Etienne’s absence leaves freshman Nate Frazier (333 yards, three TDs) as the only running back with extensive playing time assured of being available against the Volunteers.
What's at Stake?
This is essentially a playoff game — especially for Georgia, which has no room for error after a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss knocked the Bulldogs out of the College Football Playoff’s provisional 12-team field. A win over the Volunteers would put them back on a likely path to the expanded postseason, presuming they can close out the regular season with wins over UMass and Georgia Tech. Tennessee is in a similar position, knowing another signature Southeastern Conference win would position the Volunteers for a likely playoff berth. Their road to the postseason gets much more precarious with a second loss.
Key Matchup
Georgia QB Carson Beck vs. a Tennessee defense that has allowed just 12.6 points per game, ranking fifth nationally. Beck was supposed to be one of the nation’s biggest stars, but he’s thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) over the last six games. The Bulldogs desperately need Beck to turn things around if they’re going to have any shot at winning their third national championship in four years. He needs better protection from the offensive line, which gave up five sacks a week ago against Ole Miss.
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