This Monday, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide will face off in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in a Southeastern Conference championship game rematch.
Current college football odds have the Bulldogs as favorites. Can Georgia avenge its previous loss to Alabama? Here are three reasons they can.
Georgia (-3) at Alabama (Neutral)
- Date: Monday, Jan. 10, 2022
- Time: 8:00 PM EST
- Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN
The college football season finale kicks off on Monday, and Georgia coach Kirby Smart hopes to succeed where he failed last month. Alabama and Nick Saban are making their sixth appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Georgia Stops the Run
In the 2021 season, Georgia’s defense gave up only 9.64 points per game and an average of 4.1 yards per play.
Their rushing defense is particularly dominating, giving up only 81.9 rushing yards per game. Shutting down Alabama’s rushing attack will be of the utmost importance to Georgia, given how Bama won their semi-final game.
Against Cincinnati, Alabama relied heavily on the run, rushing for 301 yards, which accounted for 62% of their offense. If Georgia can make Alabama one-dimensional on offense, they’ll stand a better chance of winning this game.
Running the Ball Effectively
During the 2021 season, the Bulldogs averaged 194.4 rushing yards per game with an average of 5.3 yards per rush.
Georgia’s running game dominated against a solid Michigan defense. In the semi-final game against the Wolverines, they ran for 190 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per rush.
Alabama has a solid rush defense, surrendering only 82.1 yards per game and 2.53 yards per rush. Georgia will need to run the ball often and effectively, allowing them to control the clock. Georgia ran the ball for 109 yards in their last matchup with Alabama. Getting more production from their running game will take some of the pressure off of Stetson Bennett and help negate Alabama’s pass rush.
Stetson Bennett
Bennett threw the ball 48 times in his last game against Alabama. Before that, he hadn’t thrown over 29 passes in a game for the Bulldogs this season.
Though Stetson Bennett threw only five interceptions all season, he threw two against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. One of those was a pick-six. However, he rebounded nicely in Georgia’s next game against Michigan, throwing for 313 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite his two interceptions against Alabama, Bennet has only seven interceptions this year compared to 27 touchdowns. His 10.1 yards per pass attempt is tied for second in the nation. He’s an effective quarterback behind an excellent offensive line that gave up the fewest sacks in the SEC. I believe he’ll have a better game against Alabama in this rematch.
How Can the Georgia Bulldogs Win?
If Georgia can make Alabama a one-dimensional passing offense by shutting down the run, they will have a greater chance of slowing down Bryce Young.
Georgia must then control the clock by running the football effectively, which will keep Bryce Young off the field and keep pressure off of Stetson Bennett.
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