Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Georgia Bulldogs Odds
The number 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs should have opened as a -5 ½ verses the Alabama Crimson Tide for Week 5 of College Football action. The actual opening line was -6 ½.
Georgia beat Alabama on the road in overtime by 3 points last year. Georgia was a +3 underdog at that time and covered. It should be noted that Alabama appears to be a much improved team since that time. They have passed tests already against Tulane, Western Kentucky and Arkansas.
The Crimson Tide are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall but are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS win, which might not matter much if you consider the improvements with this team.
The Bulldogs are 6-0 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. They are also 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
At home, Georgia has beaten their opponent by double digits every game since their loss to South Carolina on September 8, 2007, an obvious upset.
"Our team has made improvements," points out Coach Nick Saban. "We're not disappointed where we are, but we're not where we feel we can be, either. That ‘full potential' thing is like an iceberg. There's a whole lot under the water that you can't see. So you just keep trying to bring more and more of it up."
The Bulldogs went to Arizona State and pummeled the defending Pac-10 co-champions 27-10 on Saturday night.
"I think we made a good statement," said freshman receiver A.J. Green, who caught eight passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. "We're from the SEC, the South boys. Everybody thinks our conference is so hard, so we just came out here and proved a point."
Now the third-ranked Bulldogs (4-0) will go from the frying pan of Sun Devil Stadium, where the temperature was 99 degrees at kickoff on Saturday afternoon, and into the fire of the SEC race.
Georgia sailed through its first regular-season trip to the West since a 1960 visit to Los Angeles to play Southern California.
"Right now, I like where we are if we keep understanding that we've got a ways to go," Richt said Saturday night before the Bulldogs boarded a charter plane for the long flight home. "It's nice to be 4-0 and not to have played your best game or I guess what you would envision to be your best game. I do believe we are improving in the right areas. We've still got some problems we've got to iron out."
Georgia opened the season atop The Associated Press Top 25 but twice slipped a spot. after victories. The pollsters were more forgiving after watching Georgia dominate on national television.
The Bulldogs remained third in Sunday's Associated Press Top 25, but they edged within nine points of No. 2 Oklahoma, a gain of 39 points from a week ago.
Georgia was far from perfect against ASU (2-2). The most glaring line on the stat sheet was Georgia's 12 penalties for 104 yards.
Bulldogs penalties contributed 40 of the 75 yards Arizona State drove for a field goal in the second quarter.
The overmatched Sun Devils couldn't make Georgia pay for its carelessness. But that might change against tougher SEC opposition.
The Bulldogs have struggled offensively at times this year, but they put it all together in a 21-point second quarter burst. Knowshon Moreno, who finished with 149 yards, ran for two touchdowns and Green caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Stafford.
Betting on this game can be found at BetOnline.com
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Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
