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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Kick-off: 2000 ET, 10/01/2022
Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium
Georgia are favourites to land a first national title since 1980 and get the nod to achieve that feat by beating perennial powerhouses Alabama.
The Bulldogs were upset 41-24 by the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game but are fancied for revenge on their overall form this season.
We’re taking 1.87 for Kirby Smart’s side to win by more than 2.5 points in the first of our Alabama vs Georgia predictions.
Alabama are eyeing a 19th success and have been the dominant force in the current College Football Playoff National Championship era.
The Crimson Tide made it three wins in six years when beating Ohio State last term and got the better of Georgia in the 2018 decider.
However, Nick Saban’s side did taste defeat in the 2017 and 2019 finals and may have to settle for second best again here.
Alabama finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, with the sole defeat being a 41-38 loss to Texas A&M in early October.
Two turnovers proved crucial in their triumph over the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta and Cincinnati were then brushed aside 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl.
That also served as a semi-final for this tournament, with quarterback Bryce Young throwing three touchdowns in each of the last two matches.
Georgia have shown they can shut down the Crimson Tide’s running game, though, and that will make it tough for Young this time.
Alabama have done incredibly well to overcome losing a record-equalling six first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft.
However, wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, who went sixth and 10th respectively, have been hard to replace, especially after an injury to John Metchie.
Looking at the Alabama vs Georgia odds, we like 4.75 for the Bulldogs to oblige by 7-12 points.
Smart is in his sixth season as Georgia boss and everything seems to have clicked into place.
Pre-season polls predicted the Bulldogs would top the East Division table and they duly delivered with a 100 per cent regular-season record.
After opening with a tight victory over Clemson, Georgia were never troubled again, with a mean defence conceding an average of only 6.9 points a game.
Two formlines standout, with Auburn hammered 34-10 and Arkansas thrashed 37-0, as both of those teams came close to upsetting Alabama in November.
That stellar rearguard suffered an untimely blip when torn apart by Young and the Crimson Tide just over a month ago but got back on track in a 34-11 drubbing of Michigan in the Orange Bowl.
Smart, a former defensive coordinator at Alabama, was delighted with that recovery, led by outstanding linebacker Nakobe Dean.
“We’ve got a lot of high-character guys on this team and they played their tails off,” declared Smart.
The Bulldogs were dominant up front on both sides of the ball and if signal caller Stetson Bennett can avoid mistakes this time, Georgia have the all-round ability to end a run of seven straight losses to Alabama.
Running backs James Cook and Zamir White should shine behind a powerful offensive line and we’re splitting our first TD scorer stakes between that pair at 8.5 and 9.0 respectively.
Additional stats
Last result:
ALABAMA 27-6 Cincinnati
GEORGIA 34-11 Michigan
Head-to-head: Alabama 41-24 Georgia
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