NCAAF: Alabama vs Georgia winner to face Notre Dame
The playoff of four teams for the national championship of college football is still two years away, but the championship for the Southeastern Conference on Saturday will act as a semifinal game for the national championship.
The latest standings of the BCS announced last Sunday have confirmed that the winner of the SEC Championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide will punch their ticket to the BCS Championship game against Notre Dame for the national championship. Notre Dame defeated USC last week 22-13 to end their regular season 12-0 and earn the no. 1 ranking in the nation.
This is the seventh straight season that the SEC championship game winner will qualify for the title game in NCAA football. After Alabama at no. 2 and Georgia at no. 3, there is yet another SEC team, the Florida Gators at no. 4. That makes it virtually impossible for the fifth ranked team, the Oregon Ducks to sneak into the BCS title game. Oregon did not even qualify to play in the Pac-12 championship.
The loser of the SEC championship game will drop below idle Florida after this week and Florida will secure the no. 3 spot for the final regular season poll and will likely play in the Sugar Bowl, another BCS bowl. The Georgia and Alabama loser will likely play in the Capital One Bowl since the BCS rules say only two teams from the same conference can participate in BCS Bowls during the same season.
Georgia has only played two ranked teams all season and were blow out 35-7 in one of the two by South Carolina. Nevertheless, they have quietly climbed the polls and won when they most needed and will be playing for a chance to play for the national championship. Their overall record is 11-1 SU and 6-6 ATS.
Alabama comes into the game with an overall record of 11-1 SU and 6-6 ATS. Many of the odds makers have given Alabama a favorite tag of at least 8 points with some even higher. The Tide has earned that status, as they are first in FBS efficiency, while Georgia is just no. 14. The Tide is averaging 39 points per game, while the Bulldogs are averaging 38. Alabama is first in overall defense for points allowed as they are giving up just 9.3 per game, while the Bulldogs are allowing 17.7 points a game to rank no. 17.
The two teams have not played since the fall of 2008, when Alabama visited Georgia and defeated the Bulldogs 41-30. The coaches are still the same on the sidelines however, the players are all different.
Nick Saban the Alabama coach has won the national title three times, twice with Alabama and once with LSU. Mark Richt, the coach of Georgia has not won a national championship but has two SEC championships with Georgia.
This game will be low scoring and controlled by the defense. In those situations, the underdog always has a better chance ATS. The Bulldogs will have a hard time scoring on Alabama but will do so and they will control the Alabama defense enough to keep the score close.
I like Alabama by 7, giving the Bulldogs the win ATS, with the points cashing out in favor of the UNDER.
