Georgia and Oregon might both open as Top 10-ranked teams, but oddsmakers are already seeing this game as a mismatch.
It’s quite different than a season ago, when UGA opened the season as the only SEC team that was an underdog in the opening week.
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The reigning CFP Champion Bulldogs are favored by 16 1/2-points over the Ducks in the Sept. 3 game that will be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, per FanDuel.com.
Georgia is expected to be double-digit favorites in most all of its games in 2022, per another oddsmaker.
“Just going through their schedule, they’re gigantic favorites in every game,” said Matt Lindeman, of @WynnBet. “I’ve got them as an 8-point favorite in every game.
“Mississippi State, on the road, is the one game I have single digits.”
It’s a tribute to how well the Bulldogs have recruited considering Georgia had 15 players selected in the NFL and four of the seven UGA players who entered the transfer portal were former starters.
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Still, the Bulldogs look like a good bet to most.
The sports gambling industry has become big business, with a record $4.3 billion in revenue in 2021, so there will be plenty more betting “action” on the game between UGA and the Ducks before it kicks off.
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There are plenty of storylines, chief among them that this is the first game for Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, who served the previous four seasons on Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia.
The game is in Atlanta, but the Ducks have proven they can have early-season success on the road.
Oregon beat Ohio State by a 35-28 count in Columbus, Ohio, last season but finished 10-4, losing three of its final four games.
Two of those losses were to Utah, one of the premium rushing teams in the nation, finishing 13th in the nation last season.
Georgia bases its current offense on the run game, to the extent Coach Kirby Smart explained his first-team offense was ineffective in the spring game because it didn’t attempt to establish the run.
Lanning’s offense, meanwhile, looks to get a makeover with Bo Nix at quarterback and former Auburn offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kenny Dillingham.
Here are some other SEC Lines, per FanDuel.com:
Week 1
Utah at Florida (-2.5)
Florida State at LSU (-4.5)
Week 2
Tennessee (-3.5) at Pitt
Kentucky at Florida (-4)
Alabama (-14.5) at Texas
Week 3
Miami at Texas A&M (-9)
Ole Miss (-9.5) at Georgia Tech
Penn State (-1) at Auburn
Week 4
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (-7.5)
Week 5
Alabama (-17.5) at Arkansas
Week 6
Texas A&M at Alabama (-16)
Week 7
Alabama (-16.5) at Tennessee
LSU at Florida (-3)
Week 8
Ole Miss at LSU (-2.5)
