Yesterday, the popular sportsbook FanDuel got a headstart on odds for the 2024 regular season by releasing win totals for two of the most notable and popular schools in the country. They set Colorado’s over/under for the 2024 season at 3.5, surely hoping to capitalize on some early action from Coach Prime believers and naysayers alike. The sportsbook also did something Vegas hasn’t done in nearly a decade.
Alabama’s win total for the 2024 season was set at 9.5 wins, the lowest preseason win total since 2015 and it came with -122 juice to the under. Vegas is expecting a huge step back from the Crimson Tide under Kalen DeBoer after Bama finished 12-2 in Nick Saban’s final year.
The last time that Alabama won fewer than 10 games was in 2007, Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa when the team went 7-6. Oddsmakers believe that Alabama will be out of the way, but the roadmap for Georgia to win the SEC may not be any easier with Texas taking Bama’s place as top contender.
Georgia is still the favorite to win the national championship at +300 and Carson Beck is the favorite to win the Heisman at +750, even with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.
No hedges at Sanford… for right now
The hedges at Sanford Stadium are iconic, but right now for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, they are nowhere to be found.
The hedges are gone! #UGA #GoDawgs @ATLNewsFirst #SanfordStadium pic.twitter.com/U8mYNdN09T
— Adam Murphy (@AdamMurphyTV) February 1, 2024
Georgia has temporarily removed the hedges to install a new irrigation and drainage system for Dooley Field. This is part of a planned renovation of the stadium before the 2024 season but is still a bizarre look. The replacement hedges will come from the same lineage as the originals.
SEC in AP Top 25
It was a big week for SEC basketball. South Carolina continues to stack wins, including one over the Bulldogs on Saturday. Finally, the Gamecocks were rewarded with a spot in the AP top 25 checking in at No. 15 in Monday’s newest rankings.
South Carolina is the third-highest-ranked SEC team, behind No. 6 Tennessee, coming off a 103-92 win over Kentucky in Lexington, and No. 12 Auburn, who beat Ole Miss this past weekend and sits third in the conference standings. No. 16 Alabama and No. 17 Kentucky round out the conference’s delegation.
The next time Georgia plays a team from that group is February 24 when the Bulldogs host Auburn.