Auburn Tigers at Georgia Bulldogs Tide Odds & Game Pick (2020)
Unlike some of their fellow Power 5 conference peers, the SEC wasted no time in coming out of the gates with monster matchups for fans (and bettors) to salivate over. With a limited schedule that includes no out of conference teams, these early season games are as critical as they’ve ever been for teams with postseason aspirations.
Let’s take a look at what will be the first game between top 10 opponents of the 2020 college football season.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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Details
- Opening Lines: Georgia -7.5; 45 OU
- Current Line: Georgia -6.5
- O/U: 44.5
- Location: Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
- Start Time: 7:30 pm ET
- Television: ESPN
- Last Meeting: November 16, 2019- Georgia 21, Auburn 14
Overview
When this game was slated for the first weekend of October, I knew the quarterbacks and would likely be the storyline going in. What I didn’t know was the carousel the Bulldogs would be dealing with. After Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman decided to opt-out, JT Daniels transferred in and looked to be the incumbent starter before not being medically cleared for last week’s opener.
In his place stepped D’Wan Mathis as the season opener, but junior Stetson Bennet ultimately finished the 37-10 road win over Arkansas. After tailing 5-7 heading into the half, Stetson threw for three touchdowns and Zamir White ran for another, while the defense got in on the fun with a pick-six of their own.
For Auburn, the guy at the helm has, and for at least one more season past this, will still be quarterback Bo Nix. Following up on an SEC Freshman of the Year campaign in 2019, Nix threw for three touchdowns in last week’s 29-13 win over Kentucky.
A low point for the Tigers in week one, however, was their defense’s inability early on to get off the field on third down. On 10 attempts for the Wildcats in the first half, they were able to convert on eight of them before getting shut down in the second half, going 12 of 20 on the day.
- The Tigers are 11-4 in their last 15
- The Under is 7-0 in the Bulldogs last seven against a team with a winning record
Bottom Line
Ultimately, both of these teams used their Week 1 matchups to shake off some rust and get both sides of the ball in tune with what they plan to do this season. Not all Week 1 matchups are made the same, however.
For Auburn, a rejuvenated and stronger than usual Kentucky team was on the docket, as strong of a Week 1 test that anyone got in the SEC. For Georgia, an Arkansas team that will likely finish near the bottom of the SEC was at hand, a contest in which they struggled for the majority of three quarters before ultimately sheer talent separated them from the Razorbacks.
In what’s about as unclear of a quarterback situation as any team has in the conference, I’ll take Auburn who turned in the more solid Week 1 performance and also coming in looking for revenge from last season.
FanDuel Sportsbook: View our review and access special sports betting offers >>
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.