The biggest college football clash of the month unfolds on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium, as the Alabama Crimson Tide host the Georgia Bulldogs.
The pregame narrative: No. 4 Alabama was a playoff team last year, while No. 2 Georgia won the national championship in both of the seasons before that. This game is a massive one, and I think the Crimson Tide will cover as rare home underdogs. In the prop market, look out for Ryan Williams and Trevor Etienne.
Check out my top Georgia vs. Alabama picks for this ranked Week 5 matchup.
Georgia vs. Alabama picks
Click linked odds to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| UGA vs. Bama Week 5 picks | Odds | Bet now ⬇️ |
| Williams over 49.5 rec. yards | +110 | Add to betslip |
| Alabama +2.5 | -118 | Add to betslip |
| Etienne over 15.5 rush attempts | -120 | Add to betslip |
Go to full college football betting markets.
Best Bet: Williams over 49.5 receiving yards (+110)
The ferocious Georgia defence will be Williams’ first true test as a college football player. But he’s passed all the easier tests with flying colours.
The true freshman, who doesn’t turn 18 until February, has been an absolute home run hitter through three games:
- vs. Western Kentucky: 2 catches, 139 yards, 2 TDs
- vs. South Florida: 4 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD
- at Wisconsin: 4 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD
He leads the nation with 28.5 yards per reception, which theoretically means he’s two catches away from cashing this bet. That yards/reception number seems unsustainably high, but it also illustrates the speed and athleticism that this youngster wields.
Just last week, retired Alabama coach Nick Saban compared Williams to the freshman version of Amari Cooper, who finished with 1,000 yards in his first season in Tuscaloosa. High praise, but so far it looks earned.
The reason this relatively modest yardage total sits at plus-money odds is that Georgia has been utterly dominant on defence. The Dawgs have allowed just 18 total points to their three opponents on 202.0 yards per game.
Williams has never faced Georgia, and he never took a visit to Athens during his recruitment. Time to show the Bulldogs what they’re missing out on.
If you have a greater appetite for risk, consider Williams as an anytime TD scorer (+215). He’s scored in all three Alabama games and has already flashed plenty of big-play potential.
Key stat: Williams is averaging 95.0 receiving yards per game and has cashed this bet in all three matchups.
Quick pick
Alabama +2.5 (-118): Did you know that the last time Alabama was a home underdog was the year Williams was born (2007)?
It’s a rare sight and I think Bama will remind us why on Saturday.
The Tide have scored 40-plus points in all three of their games so far, which is nice to see even against lesser opponents. In Georgia’s most recent game, the Dawgs scraped by with a 13-12 win over unranked Kentucky.
Alabama won last year’s SEC championship game over Georgia, 27-24, as 5.5-point underdogs. Both teams have the same quarterbacks now as they did then, but with a lot of departures at other skill positions.
Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey left a huge hole in the Bulldogs’ offence, and I’m not confident that the current Georgia outfit can win by a comfortable margin in Tuscaloosa.
Etienne over 15.5 rush attempts (-120): The losses of Bowers and McConkey only make the arrival of Etienne more significant for Georgia’s offence.
Etienne, a Florida transfer and the younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars tailback Travis Etienne, stepped into the Dawgs’ offence to be the lead runner. He missed their season opener due to a suspension and was only gently used in a blowout win over Tennessee Tech the following week.
But in Georgia’s nail-biting win over Kentucky, Etienne was pivotal. He carried the ball 19 times for 79 yards while adding one catch for 11 yards.
Etienne basically had the backfield to himself, accounting for 20 of 26 touches within the RB group.
Alabama’s run defence has been more lenient than its pass defence so far, so that’s an area that Georgia might look to exploit with Etienne.
Picks made at 11:20 a.m. on 09/27/2024.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.