Ole Miss-Georgia
Saturday, Oct. 18
3:30 p.m. Eastern, 12:30 p.m. Pacific
ABC
The SEC football season is richly entertaining for one main reason: It seems nearly anyone can threaten anyone else on a given Saturday. Georgia did beat Auburn last week, but the Bulldogs barely escaped. They were very close to falling behind 17-0, but a controversial replay review denied Auburn a touchdown and a three-score lead. Georgia took advantage and rallied to win, but it was much too close for comfort.
The SEC is a league where just about every team gets picked off at least once, or will come close to losing on a regular basis. This is no longer a world in which Nick Saban and/or Kirby Smart dominate 12-14 little brothers. It’s now an SEC in which six to eight teams are playing roller derby. Ole Miss and Georgia are part of this picture in the Deep South.
Georgia is not the juggernaut it once was
Dawgs need a strong statement Between the Hedges
The Georgia empire Kirby Smart built is not necessarily in decline, but it certainly doesn’t have the power and prominence it did a few short years ago. Georgia did still win the SEC championship last season. It did play in the playoff quarterfinals. This is still a really good, really strong program, but it is not the dominant force it was when it captured back-to-back national championships.
Georgia lost at home to Alabama earlier this season. The Dawgs are not as authoritative or imposing as they used to be. They still win, and they still play in the biggest games of every SEC football season, but they are not the presumptive favorite to win either the conference or the national title. The SEC has become a league defined less by one or two dominant teams, more by parity and balance. Georgia has won some very close games this year. The margin between a successful season and a three-loss disaster is smaller than ever. Georgia really needs a big-time thrashing of Ole Miss to feel like its old self once again.
Ole Miss Rebels-Georgia Bulldogs Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Ole Miss +7.5 (-110), Georgia -7.5 (-110)
Total: 54.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
Underdog moneyline: Ole Miss +230
The importance of this game is massive for both sides. It’s the middle of the season. Lots of big games are still to come in late October and all of November. Winning now gives teams leverage and a cushion for later in the season. A win in mid-October means one loss in November doesn’t destroy the campaign and all its goals. Losing now means that another subsequent loss in November would be catastrophic. Ole Miss and Georgia need to stay on the right side of the margins.
It is hard to ignore how ordinary Georgia looked at Auburn. Was UGA looking ahead to Ole Miss? Probably. Was Ole Miss looking ahead to Georgia when it barely beat Washington State? Definitely. All in all, 7.5 seems like a lot of points, but on the other hand, Ole Miss on the road might not be worth your trust. We’d lean to Ole Miss +7.5 but think this game is better for a live bet than a pregame pick.