Early projected betting line on Alabama-Georgia released, no surprise

ATHENS — The Georgia-Alabama SEC Championship Game is more than two weeks away, but already, there’s interest.

The Bulldogs players, to a man, insist the focus is completely on Georgia’s game with No. 24 Auburn at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

After all, UGA has to win their three remaining games to maintain control of their own destiny where the College Football Playoffs are concerned.

Still, the talk has begun.

Can the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1 SEC) beat the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide (9-0, 7-0) when the teams meet at 4 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta?

BetOnline.AG provided DawgNation with a projected line on the game as of Wednesday night, saying as of now Alabama would be favorited by 13 1/2 points.

The same website provided the following odds on the teams currently ranked in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings:

• Alabama -8 over Clemson

• Alabama -14 over Michigan

• Alabama – 20.5 over Notre Dame

Alabama has not been less than a 14 1/2-point favorite over any of the teams it has faced thus far this season, and that line came at LSU last Saturday.

The Crimson Tide’s closest game of the season came on Sept. 22, when Alabama beat Texas A&M 45-23 in Tuscaloosa.

Georgia, meanwhile, has been favored in all of its games, too.

The Bulldogs’ only loss came as a 7-point favorite at LSU, when they were defeat by the Bayou Bengals 36-16.

Georgia has bounced back and covered the spread in its past two games, showdowns with Florida (36-17 as a 7-point favorite) and at Kentucky (34-17 as a 9.5-point favorite).

The Bulldogs opened as a 14.5-point favorite over Auburn, and the line has dropped to 14 points.