Georgia vs. Alabama Trends to Know for Betting on the College Football Playoff National Championship

The 2021-22 college football season comes to an end in Indianapolis, IN on Monday with No. 1 Alabama facing No. 3 Georgia in the National Championship. We highlight the betting trends you need to know for Georgia versus Alabama.

Do we really need any more confirmation that the SEC is simply leaps and bounds better than any other conference in college football? Both No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia dispatched quality opponents with ease in the College Football Playoff semifinals and they will meet for all the marbles – just like they did four years ago.

Oh, and the SEC is only going to get better in a few years when Texas and Oklahoma join, but that’s a story for another day.

Here’s a look at the history and betting trends for Georgia and Alabama heading into the College Football Playoff National Championship.

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Georgia Betting Preview

Record: 13-1 SU, 9-5 ATS, 6-8 O/UKey Players: QB Stetson Bennett, RB Zamir White, RB James Cook, TE Brock Bowers, DL Jordan Davis, DL Devonte Wyatt, LB Nakobe Dean

The Bulldogs are looking for their first national championship since 1980 when they had some good young running back named Herschel Walker. One interesting tidbit: A No. 3 seed like the Dawgs has yet to win it all in the College Football Playoff era (every other seed has). Georgia was also a No. 3 when it lost 26-23 in overtime to Alabama in the 2018 title game. That was the only other time two schools from the same conference played for a championship in the CFP.

The last time Georgia faced a top-ranked Alabama team was the 2018 SEC Championship Game when the No. 4 Bulldogs fell 35-28 in Atlanta. Other than the season opener vs. Clemson, every Georgia victory this year was by double digits. It leads the nation in scoring defense while giving up just 9.5 points per game. The defense has allowed an FBS-low 12 touchdowns while the unit has scored three TDs. UGA is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games vs. teams with a winning record.

Alabama Betting Preview

Record: 13-1 SU, 8-6 ATS, 7-7 O/UKey Players: QB Bryce Young, RB Brian Robinson Jr., WR Jameson Williams, OL Evan Neal, LB Will Anderson Jr., DB Jordan Battle

The Tide closed as 12.5-point favorites in the Cotton Bowl against unbeaten Cincinnati and rolled 27-6. They held a top-10 national offense to just 218 yards and outrushed the Bearcats 301-74. It was very interesting how head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien largely took the ball out of Young’s hands – he still had three TDs – and rode Robinson, who had 25 carries for 198 yards. However, 'Bama will not be able to out-size and out-physical Georgia.

This game will end Saban’s streak of being favored in 21 straight bowl/BCS/CFP games. It will be the first time Saban is an underdog in a bowl/BCS/CFP game since the 2003 BCS Championship Game when he was at LSU. The Tigers were +6.5 and beat Oklahoma 21-14. While Saban already has a record seven national titles (one at LSU), he’s tied for the most with six at Alabama with Bear Bryant.

The Tide are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a win of at least 20 points.

Georgia vs. Alabama History

Let’s go ahead and predict an Alabama victory by a score of 41-24. Why? The last two meetings between the teams ended that way: this year’s SEC title game (Georgia was -6) and in the 2020 regular season in Tuscaloosa (Alabama was -6).

Throw out the SEC Championship Game, and Georgia allowed an average of just 7.2 points in all other games this season. The Dawgs blitzed the Tide 20 times in the Dec. 4 contest in Atlanta but didn’t sack Heisman Trophy winner Young once. He threw for 421 yards and three scores. Receiver John Metchie III had six catches for 97 yards and a TD but was lost for the year in the game. 

The Georgia-Alabama underdog is on a 7-1 ATS trend over the last eight meetings. The Over is 3-0-1 in the last four.

SEE ALSO: Georgia vs. Alabama Picks

Georgia vs. Alabama Trends to Know

Brock Bowers of the Georgia Bulldogs can't hold on to this touchdown reception against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the third quarter of the SEC Championship Game. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images via AFP.

Alabama 5-1 ATS past six as underdog

After beating Georgia in the SEC title game as underdogs, the Tide’s only straight up and ATS loss as dogs since 2008 came in the 2008 SEC Championship Game in a 31-20 loss to Florida on a line of +10.

Nick Saban 25-1 SU all-time vs. former assistants

The Saban coaching tree is the most impressive in college football, but he has just one straight-up loss against his former assistants as head coaches. That was earlier this season in a 41-38 upset at Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M. Alabama and Saban are riding a 4-0 SU trend against Georgia’s Kirby Smart.

Saban 1-4 ATS in CFP National Championship Games

While the Tide are 3-2 straight up in CFP title games – no other school has more than two titles (Clemson) – they covered in just one of those. That was last year as a 9.5-point favorite against Ohio State. Saban is invincible with multiple weeks to prepare but maybe not so much with only about 10 days?

Over 5-1-1 in CFP National Championship Games

The only Under in a CFB national title game was in the first one following the 2014 season when the total was a monstrous 72.5 between Ohio State and Oregon. The Buckeyes won 42-20.

Georgia 0-4 ATS in past four following ATS win

The Dawgs closed as 7.5-point favorites in the Orange Bowl vs. Michigan and won 34-11. It was Georgia's largest margin of victory over an AP Top 10 team in 80 years.

That followed an ATS loss in the SEC title game vs. Alabama, and Georgia has alternated ATS losses and wins over its last eight games.

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