SEC Championship Odds and Picks: LSU vs. Georgia
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? We’ll find out on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on CBS when the SEC Championship kicks off. Here’s a look at odds and college football betting picks for LSU vs. Georgia.
College Football Conference Championship Odds
- Oregon vs. Utah, O/U 46.5
- Baylor vs. Oklahoma -9, O/U 64
- Georgia vs. LSU -7, O/U 55
- Virginia vs. Clemson -28.5, O/U 55.5
- Wisconsin vs. Ohio State -16.5, O/U 56.5
SEC Championship Odds: LSU vs. Georgia
- Spread: LSU -7
- Total: 54.5
- Opened: LSU -6.5, O/U 55.5
- Time: 4 p.m. ET on CBS
84% of bets are on LSU and 75% on the Under as of Thursday morning, per VegasInsider.com.
LSU is averaging 560.4 yards per game (390 through the air) and 48.7 points, ranking second nationally in each category. What stands in their way from winning their first SEC Championship since 2011? A stout Georgia Bulldogs defense that has allowed the second-fewest points per game (10.4) in college football this season.
It’s been over a year since the two SEC teams last met. When the Tigers and Bulldogs played in 2018, LSU managed to score 36 points in a 20-point win over the Bulldogs. That was before Joe Burrow was a Heisman candidate and before LSU turned into one of the most prolific offenses in the nation.
Fast forward a year, and Joe Burrow is essentially a lock to win the Heisman and defenses are left scrambling trying to figure out how to stop LSU’s new spread offense. So how exactly how does quarterback go from 200-1 odds to win the Heisman to -1400 at sports betting sites? How does one go throwing for just 2,500 yards and 12 touchdowns one season to racking up over 4,300 yards and 44 touchdowns the next?
That answer is Joe Brady, the former offensive analyst for the New Orleans Saints that was hired by LSU head coach Ed Orgeron to transform an LSU offense that had been stagnant at times and, along with the presence of Nick Saban and Alabama, kept LSU from returning to the SEC Championship for eight years.
As a side note, we hope you grabbed Burrow +3300 to win the Heisman when we wrote about his Heisman prospects in Week 2 of the college football season.
SEC Championship Picks: LSU vs. Georgia
Injuries, suspensions could slow down Georgia in 1H
I lean toward backing LSU for the game, but there’s one bet I like more…
Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm was already without one of his top receivers, Lawrence Cager, due to a season-ending injury against Auburn. Before the injury, Cager was Georgia’s leading receiver and had found the end zone four times. As if losing Cager wasn’t bad enough, freshman George Pickens — the Bulldog’s leading receiving since Cager’s premature departure — will be forced to sit out the first half of the SEC Championship game following an altercation with Georgia Tech a week ago. In addition, Georgia’s leading rusher, D’Andre Swift, left the game against Georgia Tech in the second half with a shoulder injury. Swift has been practicing, and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart expects him to play. Regardless, the Bulldogs are certainly banged up and they’ll be even more short-handed in the first half.
So just how concerned should Bulldogs fans be? According to SEC analyst Cole Cubelic, Fromm is completing 73% of throws when targeting Cager or Pickens but only 53% when targeting everyone else.
Georgia can watch all the film they want, but they have yet to see an offense quite like LSU’s. I expect LSU to start off fast (I would even consider playing Burrow in DFS despite the difficult matchup), and Georgia will have a tough time to respond until Pickens takes the field after halftime.
My SEC Championship Pick: 1H LSU -4 (-110)
Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images