Ole Miss Rebels vs Georgia Bulldogs Prediction, Odds and Picks
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Point Spread Pick
Mississippi +11.0
Reasoning
We have an SEC showdown on Saturday night between two top-10 teams as Ole Miss travels to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs. It is a rare night game in Athens, and that stadium is going to be rowdy. The Dawgs have all but locked up the SEC East, but they have their sights set much higher. Mississippi has only 1 loss, but because it was to Alabama, they have all but lost their chances to make and SEC championship game. A win here, however, would almost certainly guarantee them a New Year’s Six appearance. Oddsmakers are expecting a shootout in this one as two high-powered offenses get together. The question, more than anything else in this game, is whether Ole Miss can keep pace and keep this game in range late.
There is little question that the Bulldogs will score. Their offense is humming lately, and “new” quarterback Carson Beck isn’t new anymore. He has control of this offense, and he has put up 300+ passing yards in 4 of the last 6 games. The Rebel defense is not likely to slow the Georgia offense, and I expect Ole Miss to try and create havoc and turnovers more than they try to force stops. Maybe they steal one or two turnovers along the way, but Georgia is going to find the end zone. A lot. What about on the other side? There is no secret that Lane Kiffin’s squad is all about the offense. It is a balanced offense though, and they have a fantastic running game along with a mobile QB who forces defenses to cover everything. The only game where the Rebs struggled to score was at Alabama, but that was also early in the season, and it appears that Jaxson Dart and company learned a lot of things in that game and have taken off since then. I suspect Georgia may force a couple of field goals that end up being the difference in the game. Ole Miss is good, but this is a tough spot for them. My suspicion is that this is a 10-to-13 point game, and either way you play this one, you are probably sweating it late. It is November and weird things happen, and this is the biggest test for the defending champs this season. I think Georgia controls this game, but Mississippi might be able to keep it close. I’ll take the points in this one.
Ole Miss +11 (-110) available at the time of publishing; playable to +10.5
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$19.09
Game Totals Pick
This point total is sky high for an SEC game. It is entering Pac-12 After Dark territory. Why? The answer is simply that both of these offenses are terrific, and at least one of these defenses is not. The Bulldogs have averaged 40 points per game over their last 4 games (and yes, one of those was against Vanderbilt, but that one actually pulls down the average). Carson Beck and the Georgia offense are humming right now. Early in the season, they were leaning on the running game and calling simple pass schemes for Beck, but at this point, Georgia is actually a pass-first attack, and not enough people have noticed. However they decide to attack, they should pretty easily eclipse 30 points in this contest.
The trick in this matchup is whether Ole Miss can keep up. There is a threat that if the Bulldogs get out early, Kiffin will start taking a lot of chances (trick plays, going for it on 4 down, passing up FGs to play for 7 instead, etc.), and it could backfire. If they game goes that way early, Georgia may grind it out and slow the pace. I think those chances are low, though. The most likely outcome in this one is that the Rebels are able to attack the Georgia defense with an effective run game and the occasional deep ball, and if they Rebs can keep pace early, this game could skyrocket. I am expecting this game to end up in the 38-28 range, but I don’t want to play this number if it climbs much higher.
Over 59 (-110) available at the time of publishing; playable at that number
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$19.09
A teacher and minister by training, a fantasy sports enthusiast and sports bettor by hobby. I live in the Great Smoky Mountains, and I especially love NCAAF, NFL, NCAAB and MLB. For Chad Hartsock media enquiries, please email [email protected].
