3% Alabama (7:30 ET): It’s the biggest College Football game of the season thus far and - for the first time since 2007 (Nick Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa) - Alabama is an underdog at home. Now home dogs have historically NOT fared well in Top 5 matchups such as these. However, how many of them have had the pedigree of this Crimson Tide squad? (Answer: not many). While Saban may no longer be patrolling the sidelines, Kalen DeBoer is one of the best coaches in the entire country and he has one of the most talented teams in the country. In fact, right now, I have Bama power rated as the BEST TEAM IN THE COUNTRY, so not only should they NOT be underdogs here, but I am expecting them to beat Georgia outright! (Still take whatever points you can). 

This line shockingly originally opened at Georgia -4.5, which I think is insane. Now UGA came into the 2024 season as the presumptive favorite to be the top team in the country, however, the Bulldogs hardly “looked the part” two weeks ago at Kentucky, winning only 13-12 as a 3 TD favorite. And they were trailing in that game (9-6) going into the fourth quarter. Not only that, Georgia was outgained (284-262) and had 11 fewer first downs (23-12). I’m sure HC Kirby Smart has been saying all the right things during the bye, but remember his offense also sputtered in the 1st half of the opener vs. Clemson (only 6 points). So that’s no 1H touchdowns in either game vs. FBS competition this season, which is concerning. Tate Ratledge is a key injury along the offensive line heading into this critical early-season matchup. 

Alabama is also coming off a bye, but they dismantled Wisconsin (in Madison) prior with a 42-10 beatdown. Yes, the Badgers lost their starting QB. But that hardly mattered. The Crimson Tide offense has now scored 147 points in three games. I know it was a bit of a misleading final vs. USF (late 28 points), but still, I’ve been more impressed with this team than I have Georgia. And we have to bring up how Bama has largely dominated this SEC rivalry (8-1 SU L9) including the SEC Championship Game last December. This is a better Alabama team than last season, that is stronger in the trenches compared to Georgia, and - in the battle of quarterbacks - I trust Jalen Milroe (8-0 TD-INT ratio) to make big plays more than I do with Carson Beck. 3% Alabama (Play to +1, or ML if line were to flip)