As of Sunday afternoon, Georgia was a solid favorite of 19.5 points over Georgia Tech with a point total of 54.5 for their game in Athens this Friday night. Notably, it would mark the sixth consecutive Georgia-Georgia Tech meeting whereby the Bulldogs were at least 17-point favorites over the Yellow Jackets (after no team in the series had been that big of a favorite for more than 30 years).

Matchup: Georgia is 9-2 straight up this season but 3-8 against the spread (ATS). On Saturday, the Bulldogs defeated UMass, 59-21, but didn’t quite cover as a 42.5-point favorite. Georgia Tech is 7-4 straight up and 6-5 ATS. On Thursday night, the Yellow Jackets defeated NC State at home by a single point, 30-29, as a 7.5-point favorite.

Coaching Trends: Curiously, for his Georgia coaching career, Kirby Smart is only 19-31-1 ATS (38%) when a home favorite, yet is 63% ATS under all other circumstances. After losing to Georgia Tech in his first season of 2016, Smart has defeated the Yellow Jackets six consecutive times and by a scoring margin of 29.3 points. As a significant underdog, Georgia Tech’s Brent Key has been impressive since becoming the Jackets’ head coach in October 2022. As an underdog of nine or more points, Key’s teams have won six of 14 games, including three times as an underdog of 20-plus points. In its next-to-last game, Georgia Tech upset Miami, 28-23, as a 9.5-point underdog.

History: Dominating the series, Georgia had gone 14-5-1 ATS vs. Georgia Tech beginning in 2001 before the Bulldogs didn’t cover in the last two meetings—and by a 14.5-point margin. Last season, Georgia Tech kept it close with a one-possession game, losing 31-23 as a 24-point underdog. The year before, or the last time the two teams met in Athens, the Jackets lost to the Bulldogs, 37-14, but covered as a 36-point underdog.