Recent Vegas point spreads add interesting insight on Georgia’s biggest 2019 games

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Georgia football projected to be a favorite in all of its big games in 2019

Georgia football is widely expected to be one of the best teams in all of college football for the 2019 season. With the talent returning on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, most have Georgia pegged as the No. 3 team in the country, behind only Alabama and Clemson.

Some of the wiseguys out in Vegas seem to think the same thing. The Golden Nugget sportsbook put out updated point spreads on some of the biggest games for the 2019 season. Games like Auburn-Oregon, Clemson-Texas A&M and LSU-Texas just to name a few.

Several Georgia games were included. The Bulldogs — seeing as how Alabama and Clemson aren’t on their regular season schedule — were favored in all the games listed, and will almost certainly be favored in every game they play in the regular season.

The Golden Nugget gave out point spreads for the following Georgia football 2019 games:

Perhaps the first thing that jumps out to you might be the fact that Georgia is nearly a 10-point favorite against Notre Dame. The game figures to be a top-10 matchup when the two teams meet. It’s been dubbed the best non-conference game of the 2019 season by ESPN. Both these teams have made it to the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons.

And yet this isn’t a totally surprising outcome either. We wrote recently about how the S&P+ has Georgia has a two-touchdown favorite over the Fighting Irish. And Georgia — from a talent perspective — is a lot closer to Alabama and Clemson than it is to Michigan or Florida State.

Related: Why the Notre Dame game could become a blowout

The closest game of the ones listed isn’t the Notre Dame contest, but rather the game against Florida in Jacksonville. Both teams did finish ranked in the top-10 a season ago, but when the two teams met on the field, Georgia came away with a resounding 36-17 win over the Gators.

It’s also been a tumultuous offseason for the Gators with a number high profile departures. And it’s not like the Gators really closed the recruiting gap on Georgia, as the Bulldogs hold a 22-0 advantage in 5-star prospects over Florida.

Another game that sticks out is the matchup against Tennesse on Oct. 5. A number of fans media types are bullish on the future of Tennessee under Jeremy Pruitt. Tennessee landed a number of elite prospects and are recruiting well in the 2020 cycle. But if the results don’t change much from a 5-7 first year, it’s fair to wonder how much buy-in there will be on the recruiting trail. Georgia was able to sign the No. 1 overall recruiting class in Kirby Smart’s second year largely because of the team’s on-field performance.

Related: Game times announced for first three 2019 Georgia football games

Georgia will begin its 2019 season on Aug. 31 when the Bulldogs take on Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff and will air on the SEC Network.

Georgia baseball ready to start a big weekend of in NCAA Baseball Tournament Regionals

The Georgia baseball team had a historic regular season, as it racked up 21 wins in the SEC and 44 overall wins. The Bulldogs won an SEC Tournament game for the first time since 2011. For the first time in school history, Georgia has been a national seed in back-to-back seasons.

And starting Friday, the Bulldogs will be looking to snap another long streak. The last time Georgia baseball made it out the regional round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament was back in 2008.

For the second year in a row, the Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed in the Athens Regional. Georgia and Foley Field will play host to Florida Atlantic, Florida State and Mercer this weekend. The team that wins the regional advances to face the winner of the Baton Rouge regional next weekend.

The Bulldogs get things started on Friday when they host the Mercer Bears. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs will be starting Tony Locey, who went 10-2 this season with a 2.68 ERA.

“They’ve got a great team, that’s why they’re a national seed,” Mercer coach Craig Gibson said. “They’ve got some big arms. It’s a huge challenge for us to be here, we’re a four seed and hopefully we can be competitive Friday. They’re a great team; Scott [Strikclin’s] done a great job and they’ve assembled a special group here.”

Mercer does have some somewhat recent success against Georgia, as the Bears swept the Bulldogs when the two teams last met in 2017. But Georgia is clearly a very different team now. Georgia has one of the best pitching staffs in the country, led by the likes of Locey and sophomore Emerson Hancock.

Should Georgia beat Mercer, the Bulldogs will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. If Georgia loses, it will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The regional round is double elimination, meaning that if Georgia were to lose twice, its season would be over.

But heading into the big weekend, Georgia coach Scott Stricklin isn’t worried about the pressure of living up to being the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament.

“It should be a lot of fun,” Stricklin said. “We’re playing at seven o’clock under the lights and the weather’s supposed to be great, at least it’s supposed to cool off a bit. It’s going to be 80 degrees with a packed house in a Regional atmosphere. It should be a lot of fun.”

Full Athens Regional, Georgia Baseball schedule

Friday, May 31 Game 1 – No. 2 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 vs. Florida State @ Noon (ESPN3) Game 2 – No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Mercer @ 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

Saturday, June 1 Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, @ 1 pm Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, @ 7 pm

Sunday, June 2 Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, @ Noon Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4, @ 6 pm

Monday, June 3 (If Necessary) Game 7 – If Necessary @ 4 pm

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