The Georgia Bulldogs showed that they were for real last week in a dominating win over their Bulldog brethren from Starkville. Georgia scored on its first play from scrimmage and the rout was on after that. The Bulldogs ended up winning 31-3 in a game that wasn’t even that close at the end. This week, Georgia will get a chance to enact some revenge. No Bulldogs fan can forget what happened when the Tennessee Volunteers came to Athens last year.
Watch this regular season Week 5 matchup live on Saturday, September 30, 2017, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. This game will be broadcast on CBS.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Georgia -7 -117
Tennessee +7 -103
Over/Under 46.5
Odds Analysis
Tennessee has not looked good for most of this year. Although the Vols are 3-1, they only got to that point through quite a bit of luck. This team had no business coming back against Georgia Tech in the season opener and only beat lowly Massachusetts by four last week. The Vols are 1-3 ATS on the year and their last three games have gone under the total.
The Bulldogs are looking like the team to beat in the SEC East. Although they have the toughest slate and have to beat the main contenders for the crown on the road, they have taken care of business when needed. The defense has been stifling and has led to all four of their games to finish short of the total, and the team is 3-0 ATS against FBS foes.
Last Meeting
This was one of the games of the year in 2016. Tennessee was down 17-0 at one point in the first half, but the Vols rallied back like they always did with Josh Dobbs in 2016. With less than three minutes in the game, things turned truly bizarre as Tennessee took the lead for the first time with a fumble recovery touchdown.
Georgia responded with a four-play drive, capped off with an amazing touchdown grab by Riley Ridley with 10 seconds left to seemingly give Georgia the game-winning score.
However, that’s when fate intervened. The Bulldogs messed up on the kick and gave Josh Dobbs a shot at the end zone on the last play of the game. Dobbs’ Hail Mary was answered amazingly and the Vols remained undefeated on the season. The win made Tennessee feel like a team of destiny, but the Vols started to struggle after that and never really recovered.
Matchup to Watch
Both teams have different quarterbacks this year. For Georgia, Jacob Eason was hurt early on in the season opener and Jake Fromm has been the starter ever since. Fromm has played great for a true freshman, throwing for 9.42 yards a pass with a seven to one touchdown to interception ratio and was fantastic against Mississippi State.
Eason might be ready to go this week though. He was a full participant in practice on Monday and word is that he’s healthy. It will be interesting to see what Kirby Smart does with the snaps at quarterback with both options available.
As for Tennessee, the Vols have had a mini quarterback battle of their own. Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano battled it out in summer and while Dormady won the job, Guarantano has seen action.
Dormady has outperformed Guarantano during the season too and is the definitive starter now. He has been competent with the football, while Guarantano is completing just a third of his passes.
Free ATS Pick
Tennessee was definitely preparing for Georgia last week and also has another advantage. The Vols have their bye week after this, while the Bulldogs are going to have to travel to Vanderbilt. Still, despite the benefit that gives the Vols, I like Georgia to cover. The Bulldogs are more well-rounded and Tennessee’s home field advantage hasn’t been special in recent years.
College Football Odds: Georgia 30, Tennessee 17
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