They call it cupcake week for a reason... While some delightful Big Ten fans will want to harpoon the Georgia Bulldogs like a 19th century New England whale, they have played one of the toughest schedules in the country and deserve some slight reprieve before Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Also, the Charlotte 49ers play in The American. This is not like Georgia hosting some FCS opponent here.
After having effectively punched their ticket into the College Football Playoff with a huge home win over Texas last week, Georgia is trying to position itself for the clearest run possible through the 12-team tournament. Look for starters to play some vs. Charlotte on Saturday afternoon before things inevitably get out of hand. Since Georgia Tech is not a conference game, it will be one to watch, too.
For now, Georgia will go from a team with a 99-percent chance of making the playoff, according to ESPN's Football Power Index, to almost certainly 100 percent after wiping the floor with Charlotte. Again, the only way Georgia does not make the playoff is if the Dawgs were to unthinkably lose to Charlotte and Georgia Tech in succession to close out the regular season. That is not happening.
So without further ado, let's dive up to the final odds going into the game and let's make a pick!
Georgia Bulldogs vs. Charlotte 49ers final odds
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Georgia will be laying 43.5 points at home vs. the visiting 49ers. The over/under for this game is 53.5 points. The bookmakers believe Georgia will win this game with the final score somewhere around Georgia 48.5, Charlotte 5. So we are getting a Charlottean safety, apparently. Get ready for that! Obviously, there are no moneylines to be had to bet on the game today.
What we are looking at on Saturday is one of the very best teams in the Power Four hosting one of the worst programs out of the Group of Five. Georgia has everything to play for in front of them, while Tim Albin may regret leaving the Ohio Bobcats to come coach these 49ers. Of course, Georgia's biggest games are all ahead of them now. It remains to be seen who many points they will score here.
Let's now move on to a final score prediction and what might potentially happen on the field of play.
Georgia Bulldogs vs. Charlotte 49ers prediction
Georgia is going to win, obviously. Hell will freeze over if the 49ers somehow came out on top here. Because the Bulldogs are not going to want to show anybody of significance anything, take the under and take the the 49ers getting the points. Georgia is going to win by multiple scores, but we are not talking about the Dawgs winning by something ridiculous like seven or more touchdowns in Week 13.
This because Georgia is led by a defensive-minded head coach who wants to run the football. Once the game is out of reach, Georgia will substitute in the backups and we will be getting ready for Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on Friday afternoon in Atlanta. The only advantage to running up the score is to bolster Gunner Stockton's Heisman candidacy. He should get his touchdowns, but not all that many.
Again, Georgia wins, but Charlotte covers in this one and the under is probably the smarter play here.