With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Sept. 1.
Georgia Bulldogs
National title odds: 20-1
Season win total: 9
Phil Steele
Strengths: Georgia is the most talented team in the SEC East. The Bulldogs have Nick Chubb, Keith Marshall and Sony Michel in the backfield, and they are running behind my No. 3 offensive line. The defense has lots of talent in each layer,
Weaknesses: Quarterback is a question mark, but they do have three solid options battling for the job, and I think the winner will have a good enough season. Talent has not been a question with Georgia, but losing games it shouldn't has been. The past two seasons, Georgia has lost a total of eight games, and the Bulldogs were favored to win seven of those. They lead the FBS in games lost when favored.
Over/under: Georgia draws both Alabama and Auburn out of the West and has to face Tennessee on the road. I would still lean with the over (remember, nine is a push), but I am a little leery at the number of games Georgia has lost as a favorite the past two seasons.
National title: The odds the SEC champ makes the playoff are pretty high. The odds Georgia wins the East are much better than the odds for most teams in the West to actually get to the national title game. In 2012, Georgia got to the title game and came up a few yards (and seconds) short of knocking off eventual national champ Alabama. This is a solid play.
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin
This is my first chance to comment on a team from the often-analyzed SEC East. We all know Chubb is a candidate for the Heisman trophy, and the 'Dawgs also have Michel, Brendan Douglas and Marshall to lead their offense. But who the heck is Mark Richt going to have take snaps and, more importantly, give handoffs to these star ball carriers?
Some people have mentioned Richt might be better to install the single wing offense and just snap the ball to Chubb & Co. To be honest, I don't know much about the starting QB candidates named Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta. Therefore, I am not willing to come out and say the backs will be enough to earn a spot in the SEC Title game. It also seems Georgia has a ton of NFL talent on the defensive side of the ball, with guys such as DE Jordan Jenkins, LB Leonard Floyd and LB Lorenzo Carter, and it feels like I will be let down watching these guys play as a unit when the season plays out.
I swear, every year, I feel the same about the team from Athens. They'll show flashes, and I'll enjoy watching their games and like a lot of their players, but when it comes to a big spot, I will not have to confidence to pick them to win a big game. As Phil mentioned, they have been favored in every game expect one the past two seasons, and they have been upset seven times. The idea of one of the guys I mentioned starting at QB makes me less inclined to think they will wins as many games as their fans expect.
Best-case scenario is the Bulldogs make the SEC title game, but even there, they will probably need a win over the West champ to earn a spot in the playoff. I just don't see that happening. I see four and possibly five losses.
O/U: I love you, Athens, but I say go under the total.
Chris Fallica
The Bulldogs have been favored in each of their past 16 games but are just 12-4 straight-up in that stretch, with three losses as a favorite of at least eight points. It seems like no matter how much talent there is in Athens, the Bulldogs always lose at least one game they shouldn't. The QB position is unsettled, and Chubb will be asked to do a lot. I do think the defense will be even better than last year, when Jeremy Pruitt helped shave more than a touchdown off their scoring defense. The schedule-makers didn't help, as the Bulldogs draw both Auburn and Alabama from the West and face potentially their toughest rival from the East (Tennessee) on the road. However, a motivated Georgia is a dangerous Georgia. In Pruitt I trust.
O/U: Doesn't it seem like every year Georgia is the "oh wow, they are way over" team? Then the Bulldogs finish 9-3, and no harm, no foul. I'll take the bait again. I say 10-2 and go over.
Title odds: Georgia is favored by FPI to win the SEC because the East is much easier than the West. In theory, UGA can lose to both Alabama and Auburn, finish 6-2 and reach the SEC championship game. In that sense, 20-1 on a potential SEC champ seems like decent value. But it seems the Bulldogs missed again with the marriage of great defense and a great QB. Maybe one of these years.