Tag: gators football news

BetMGM releases odds on Georgia football’s key games for 2020

Betting odds released for several of Georgia football’s key games.

Whether for not we will even have a 2020 college football season is a mystery right now, but everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that our favorite sport will return, with fans in the seats, this September.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season, online gambling sites are continuing to releasing odds on future college football games.

If college football is a go this year, BetMGM is where you can turn to find the lines for some of college football’s key 2020 matchups.

BetMGM released lines for six Georgia games, which we have listed below.

Start strategizing now.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 4:20 p.m. ET. 

Next … September 7 vs Virginia

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

College Football News writes that Georgia could be in for disappointing 2020

Could Georgia football be in for a tough 2020? One college football analyst says it’s a possibility.

Georgia has been the top-Dawg in the SEC East for the past three seasons, making the SEC Championship every year since 2017.

For 2020, expectations remain the same for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. A top-four finish, an SEC Championship appearance and a potential return to the College Football Playoff. Anything less is a disappointment.

With those expectations, a 10-2 regular season would be considered a disappointment. It would practically eliminate the Dawgs from Playoff contention, unless Georgia goes out and wins convincingly in Atlanta (if it can navigate its way there) and gets a lot of help from around the country.

So, when Pete Fiutak of College Football News picked Georgia as his potentially disappointing team from the SEC, he does not foresee an 8-4 season or anything like that. Instead, he made mention to how it’s all relative. Meaning that a 10-win season for 95% of FBS programs would be considered great, however, if Georgia wins 9 or 10, that’s a let-down by UGA standards.

From Fiutak:

It’s all relative.

No, 2020 Georgia isn’t going 8-4, or anything like that.

We predicted that Florida would be one of the top ten teams in college football before last year started – but would be a slight disappointment because it wouldn’t win the SEC East – and Georgia will begin this season in the top five, if not top three.

Georgia’s 2020 is going to be a difficult one. Aside from losing so much experience on offense and a few defensive leaders, that schedule is no joke.

[lawrence-related id=24991]

On the road at Alabama in week-three. An October game vs Auburn. The annual matchup vs Florida, this time on Halloween. If Georgia is undefeated heading into November, it’s the best team in the country and will be everybody’s pick to win the national title. But if Georgia comes out of that stretch with one or two losses, it’ll need a lot of things to fall into place in order to make it back to the playoff.

One regular season loss is fine, as long as Georgia wins the SEC Championship.

Two losses, and Georgia will need A LOT of help to make it back. A lot.

From Fiutak:

Georgia is going to keep coming into seasons as one of the five or six teams with a realistic shot at winning the national title. However, have a misfire like last year’s loss to South Carolina, finally be on the wrong end of the Florida showdown, lose to Alabama, or even have another season like the last two with an 11-1 regular season and a loss in the SEC Championship, and the CFP dreams are gone with two losses.

Georgia football schedule: Bulldogs’ three toughest games in 2020

A look at the 2020 Georgia football schedule and a dive into the Bulldogs’ toughest games.

Whether or not there will even be a 2020 season is uncertain right now. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit actually said that he would be “shocked” if we had an NFL or college season at the rate things are going in regards to the coronavirus pandemic.

Right now, I think it’s way too early to throw such an idea out there. We still have 5+ months until college football is set to resume.

So, until there’s official word that college football will be played in the fall of 2020, we will all keep our fingers crossed, pray and hope for the best.

Related — 2020 Georgia football schedule: Game-by-game predictions

I mean, Georgia plays Alabama in week-three. Please do not take that away from not only Bulldog and Tide fans, but football fans across America.

Taking a look at Georgia’s 2020 schedule, there’s no doubt that that September 19th meeting between UGA and Bama in Tuscaloosa is the toughest game on Georgia’s schedule.

When the two powerhouses meet, it will likely be a top-five battle that will have huge implications on both the SEC and the NCAA.

We take a look at Georgia’s three toughest games on its 2020 schedule, with Alabama checking at No. 1.

1. Georgia at Alabama – September 19th

This will be the biggest regular season game of Kirby Smart’s career in Athens. Kirby will be back in Tuscaloosa playing in Nick Saban’s house, where Kirby’s coaching career really took off.

After spending nine years at Alabama, Kirby is yet to defeat the Tide as head coach of the Bulldogs. In two tries, he is 0-2, with both losses coming by a combined 10 points.

Both Alabama and Georgia will go into the 2020 season ranked in the top-five, and by the time they play each other, it’s expected that both will be undefeated.

Georgia’s first three games of 2020:

Virginia

East Tennessee State

Alabama

Alabama’s first three games of 2020:

Southern Cal

Georgia State

Georgia

Alabama will be tested opening week in Arlington, when it meets the Trojans. USC could very well open the season in the top-25, but I don’t think there’s anyone out there who believes the Trojans are going to take down the Tide.

Georgia and Alabama have not met since the 2018 SEC Championship Game, where UGA lost 35-28.

A lot has changed since then. Both teams have new quarterbacks, with Jake Fromm and Tua Tagovailoa leaving their schools for the NFL. There’s new coaching staffs, recruits, transfers, etc.

Players and coaches come and go, but the style remains the same. This will be a physical, defensive battle that will be won in the trenches.

If Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman can adjust to the atmosphere in Bryant-Denny Stadium, I like Georgia’s chances.

But honestly, it’s just way too early to make a prediction on this game, with both teams being so close in terms of talent level.

If there’s one thing I know for certain, though, it’s that Saban will want nothing more than to beat Kirby and the Bulldogs. This offseason, Kirby stole Saban’s longtime strength coach Scott Cochran by offering him the position of special teams coordinator in Athens.

This will be a thrilling fight between two of college football’s biggest names.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Urban Meyer: ‘I think this is the year’ that Florida beats Georgia

Former Florida Gators HC Urban Meyer thinks this is the year Dan Mullen and UF beat Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs football program.

During his tenure at Florida, former Gators head coach Urban Meyer went 4-1 vs Georgia, with his only loss being the famous 2007 “Gator Stomp” game.

Meyer’s success against the Bulldogs has not yet been replicated by another Gator coach since.

Now, with Dan Mullen as the head guy in Gainesville, Florida is playing catch-up to Kirby Smart and Georgia. The Dawgs are 2-0 against Florida since Mullen took over and have won the last three vs the Gators.

Georgia has taken control of the series, holding a 6-3 record since 2011.

But Meyer, now a college football analyst with Fox Sports, thinks that this is the year that Mullen gets Florida back into the national spotlight, beats Georgia and navigates the Gators to their first playoff appearance.

“I think (Florida) should be in the playoff. I think it’s time,” Meyer told GatorBait’s Buddy Martin. “Dan’s built a good program. But I spent six years at Florida. Georgia is a big game. Until you beat Georgia you can’t say a thing. And I think this is the year.”

Meyer looks at 2020 as a transition year for Kirby Smart and the Dawgs.

He’s not wrong, but Georgia fans see the transition as a good thing. The Dawgs got an upgrade at offensive coordinator with Todd Monken, a fresh face at quarterback in Jamie Newman and what could even possibly be a boost at offensive line coach with Matt Luke coming into replace Sam Pittman.

There’s a lot of player talent to replace other than Fromm, but Kirby’s landed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in each of the last three years. I have no doubt that Florida will give Georgia a challenge the year, but I’m getting the sense that Kirby has Mullen’s number, and that’s not changing.

Florida is coming on strong, and many do expect the Gators to dethrone Georgia as SEC East champs in 2020. If that happens, it would make Florida the first team other than Georgia to win the division since 2016.

Top-100 recruit expands list, includes Georgia football in final eight

Georgia football was included in the top-eight of an elite 4-star recruit.

Kaine Williams, a 4-star safety in the class of 2021, has included Georgia in his top-eight schools.

Williams initially released a final cut of six schools, which included Georgia. In his tweet on Wednesday, Williams mentioned that no school dropped out of his top-six, however, he did add two schools to his list: Florida State and Texas.

His new top-eight includes LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Florida State and Georgia.

Williams, out of John Ehret High School in Marrero, Louisiana, ranks as the nation’s No. 95 overall player and the No. 3 safety in the country.

Right now, according to 247Sports, Williams is viewed as an LSU lean. The Tigers will be a tough program to beat out seeing as how they routinely produce some of the nation’s top defensive backs and are located just 45 minutes from his home.

Williams recently told Rivals that he plans to commit either at the end of May or the beginning of August.

Georgia, Florida fans roast each other with Valentine’s Day poems

The Georgia Bulldogs versus Florida Gators football rivalry is as contested as it has ever been.

The Georgia-Florida rivalry is as contested as it has ever been. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is help in Jacksonville every year and neither team or their fan base ever backs down.

This Valentine’s Day, a poem tweet from SBNation helped renew the rivalry on Twitter between Bulldog and Gator fans. Here’s the Tweet that sparked the clash between Georgia and Florida fans:

Seems harmless enough right? That’s not the case in arguably UGA’s most fierce rivalry:

Auburn got caught in the crossfire as well:

It’s a long way away, but the Georgia versus Florida rivalry will be renewed on October 31st in Jacksonville. Should be an interesting Halloween!

Both teams have the week off before facing each other in the rivalry game. The winner of the match-up has gone on to win the SEC East in each of the past five seasons. While UGA has dominated the series winning the past three games and six of nine overall. Despite the surge under Kirby Smart, the Gators and Dawgs have split the past sixteen games.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

The talent gap between Georgia football and Florida is growing

The talent gap between Georgia football and the Florida Gators is actually growing, contrary to what UF fans are saying.

The Georgia Bulldogs have officially secured college football’s top-ranked recruiting class, according to both 247 and Rivals.

For the third time in three years, the Dawgs cemented a top three group of pledges on National Signing Day. Main rival Florida, in the same time span, has not ranked higher than eighth.

Across the two programs’ storied history, Florida maintained the edge in recruiting for a majority of this millennium. Georgia, however, has been the clear winner in such battles since the appointment of head coach Kirby Smart.

To present a hypothetical question:

Would the Bulldogs’ coaching staff be disappointed in landing anything outside a top-three recruiting class? Yes. Absolutely, unequivocally, yes.

So how do the Gators feel about the good-but-not-great recruits they’ve had since the departure of Jim McElwain?

According to head coach Dan Mullen, who has never beaten the Dawgs in his head coaching tenure at both Mississippi State and Florida, they’re content with being only good for the time being.

Mullen famously loves to make what he sees as subtle jabs at Georgia, but will he ever land a solid blow? Like, in terms of out-coaching Kirby Smart?

Is Georgia football still in it? Recruiting Director at Rivals makes Zach Evans prediction

Is Georgia football still in the mix for Zach Evans? Mike Farrell at Rivals thinks so.

Zach Evans, the 5-star running back out of North Shore High School in Houston, Texas, originally signed with Georgia but then later requested that the Bulldogs release him of his National Letter of Intent. Georgia did just that.

Evans, who may be the most talented player in the entire 2020 recruiting class, was supposed to announce his decision at the Under Armour game before backing out and delaying his recruitment.

Now, however, Georgia appears to be back in the fold for Evans.

Despite already signing with UGA and then being released from his NLI, some recruiting expert still think the superstar tailback will end up at Georgia when the dust settles.

Another name to keep an eye on is Broderick Jones, a 5-star offensive lineman who has been committed to Georgia for quite some time. He has not signed with the Dawgs, though, and Auburn has been making a strong push for the 6’6″ 300 pounder out of Lithonia, Georgia.

When asked to make a prediction on where these unsigned five-star players will go, Rivals.com’s National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said he still thinks that both Evans and Jones will be heading to Georgia.

“Evans will end up at Georgia, Jones will also end up at Georgia.”

Evans is believed to be visiting Knoxville this weekend, according to Farrell. Ole Miss and Florida are in the mix as well.

At North Shore in Houston, Evans had another stellar season as a senior, rushing for 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns on just 127 carries, with an average of 12.6 yards per carry. In 2018, when he was named MaxPreps’ National Junior of the Year, Evans tallied 1,785 rushing yards and 29 scores. His sophomore season,  Evans racked up 1,483 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.

Georgia football highest SEC team in PFF’s 2020 Top-25; Florida Gators low

Georgia football checked in very high in PFF’s preseason college football rankings while the Florida Gators were low.

Georgia football will once again be one of the highest ranked teams in college football heading into the 2020 season.

There were some big question marks surrounding the 2020 Bulldogs, however, a big one was cleared up when Georgia was able to reel in Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman to replace Jake Fromm in Athens.

And that’s a big reason why Georgia checked in at No. 3 in PFF’s “Way-too-early” Top-25 rankings, the highest of any SEC school.

The two teams ahead of the Dawgs, according to PFF, are Ohio State at No. 1 and Clemson at No. 2.

Other SEC schools inside the rankings include: Alabama (5), LSU (6), Florida (19), Auburn (20).

Florida fans reading this cannot be happy with that low ranking, seeing as how the Gators have cracked a lot of top-10s in the past few weeks.

For Georgia, PFF loves the addition of Newman, saying:

And they were fortunate enough to land the biggest graduate transfer of this offseason in Jamie Newman. During Newman’s 2019 season at Wake Forest, he displayed traits that Jake Fromm couldn’t touch — such as tight-window accuracy and effective deep passing — while displaying far superior athleticism. His tight-window passing grade and deep-passing grade (20-plus yards) both were second to only Joe Burrow this season. That’s pretty good company. Getting him out of Wake Forest’s up-tempo, RPO system will allow Newman to do what he does best — beat defenses with his arm instead of his legs.

Georgia also returns almost everyone from what was college football’s most ferocious defense last season. Additionally, George Pickens is due for a big sophomore season at wide receiver along with Zamir White at running back.

There’s still some concern at the offensive line position. The five starters that Georgia fields on day one will be elite, but it’s the depth that concerns me the most. Georgia lost four of its five starters to the NFL Draft or to transfer.