As of Sunday afternoon, visiting Georgia was a slight favorite for its game at Alabama—anywhere from 1.5- to 3.5-points—with a point total of 49.5. It would mark the 47th consecutive game the Bulldogs were favored. The 2021 season opener vs. Clemson in Charlotte was the last time Georgia was an underdog.

Matchup: Georgia is 3-0 straight up and 1-2 against the spread (ATS) this season. In their last game, the Bulldogs defeated Kentucky, 13-12, as a 21-point favorite. Alabama is also 3-0 straight up, but 2-1 against the spread. In their last game, the Crimson Tide defeated Wisconsin on the road, 42-10, as a 15.5-point favorite.

Trends: The last time Georgia didn’t cover three games in a row was around this time last season (games three through five). Under Kirby Smart, and excluding the erratic 2020 COVID season, Georgia is a remarkable 20-5 ATS when having more than a week to prepare (i.e., season openers, coming off open weeks, and most bowl appearances). Since 2016, Alabama is a perfect 8-0 straight up, 5-3 ATS, in its SEC season openers, winning by an average margin of 28.8 points.

History: In the 12 games in this series beginning in the 2000s, the underdog has pulled six outright upsets, including last year. As a five-point underdog in last season’s SEC Championship Game, Alabama handed Georgia its lone loss of the season, 27-24. In 2020, the last time these two teams faced off in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs, 41-24, as a five-point favorite. Still, Georgia has covered five of its last seven games in Tuscaloosa, including winning outright as an underdog in 2002 and 2007.

Although the teams’ game in 1958 was considered a “Pick ‘em” (and we really had to dig to find a point spread for the 1904 meeting), Saturday’s game would mark the first time in 11 meetings in Tuscaloosa that Georgia was favored over Alabama. The first 10 Georgia-Alabama meetings in Tuscaloosa (season followed by the number of points Georgia was the underdog followed by the game’s result in parenthesis):

2020: +5 points (Alabama, 41-24)

2007: +3.5 points (Georgia, 26-23 OT)

2002: +4.5 points (Georgia, 27-25)

1994: +5 points (Alabama, 29-28)

1991: +5 points (Alabama, 10-0)

1977: +14 points (Alabama, 18-10)

1973: +19 points (Alabama, 28-14)

1964: +20.5 points (Alabama, 31-3)

1958: Pick ‘em (Alabama, 12-0)

1904: ** (Alabama, 16-5)

** Entering the 1904 game, newspapers reported Georgia as an underdog of “about one touchdown” to “one to two touchdowns” to favored Alabama. At the time, touchdowns were worth five points.