Georgia vs Alabama prediction, point spread, odds

The SEC is going to look different next year.

The fabled conference is expanding to 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma on July 1. From a strictly football standpoint, the East and West Divisions are going away, and the conference’s 27-year relationship with CBS, synonymous with the sports itself is coming to an end this fall.

The final SEC game on CBS? Saturday’s SEC Championship Game between No. 1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0) and No. 8 Alabama (11-1, 7-1), and there is plenty at stake. If the Bulldogs win, they’re going to the College Football Playoff as the top seed. If the Crimson Tide wins, well, things are a lot more uncertain. They could leapfrog at least four sports and into the four-team CFP field with just the win, or they may need the win, plus a bunch of outside help to get in.

Either way, the matchup is apropos of the moment, two of the nation’s preeminent powers battling for a conference title before said conference undergoes some noticeable, lasting changes.

Line: Texas (-5.5)

Moneyline: Georgia -225, Alabama +180

Over/Under: 55.5 points

Start time/network: 3 p.m. CST on CBS

Prediction: Georgia, 35-24

Remember really early this season, and even back to the spring, when there was concern about how ready Carson Beck might be to take the reins of the Georgia offense in the wake of Stetson Bennett IV’s pair of national championships in Athens?

Such concerns never panned out as Beck has delivered. Through 12 games, the fourth-year junior has thrown for 3,495 yards, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 72 percent of his passes. With Beck at the wheel, the Bulldogs own the SEC’s No. 2-ranked total offense at 496.4 yards per game, which is good for sixth nationally.

Not every Alabama game has been a work of art, (see: 17-3 at South Florida, 26-20 at Texas A&M, 27-24 at Auburn), but they’ve all been wins after the Crimson Tide were seemingly cast aside, with how much longer Nick Saban may coach called into question following a 34-24 home loss to Texas on Sept. 9.

If you’re looking for a reason to argue in favor of Alabama, we’ll point to Nov. 4 when it held LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, a likely Heisman Trophy finalist next weekend, to 15-for-24 passing for 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 42-28 win in Tuscaloosa. For the season, Daniels has thrown for over 3,800 yards and 40 touchdowns against just four interceptions, while completing over 72 perecent of his passes.