Georgia is breaking a streak.
Alabama opened as an underdog to the Bulldogs for the teams’ Week 5 clash on Saturday. It’s the first time Alabama has opened as an underdog to an opponent since 2009. It’s a streak of 72 straight games. The Dogs opened as two-point favorites according to BetOnline.ag and SportsBetting.ag.
Georgia, led by sophomore running back Nick Chubb, is 4-0 and ranked in the top 10. Alabama, 3-1, is a week removed from its home loss to Ole Miss. The Tide handily beat Louisiana-Monroe in Week 4 but the offense still didn’t look incredibly sharp. Georgia easily dispatched FCS opponent Southern.
According to Al.com, Alabama had been at least a 2.5-point favorite in those 72 games and has only been a single-digit favorite in 17 of them. The last time Alabama was an underdog was the 2009 SEC Championship Game against Florida. Alabama won that game 32-13 and went on to win the BCS Championship over Texas.
Alabama’s record straight up during the streak was 62-10.
The Bulldogs are currently the favorites in the SEC East after the rest of the divison has looked vulnerable through the first four weeks of the season. A loss for Georgia wouldn’t be as devastating as a loss would be for Alabama. With a second loss in three weeks, Alabama would likely be in a position to win out to not only win the SEC West but to have any shot of sniffing a berth in the College Football Playoff.
The game kicks at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.
For more Georgia news, visit UGASports.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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