ATHENS — Georgia has opened as a 27 1/2-point favorite over Vanderbilt, according to the VegasInsider.com consensus line.

The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0) play the Commodores (3-2, 0-1 SEC) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in Sanford Stadium (TV: SEC Network, Radio: WSB 95.5 FM, 750 AM).

Georgia is coming off a 38-12 victory over Tennessee at Sanford Stadium, a game the Bulldogs led from start to finish and were never really in danger of losing.

Georgia ranks 15th in the nation in scoring offense with 44.5 points per game, and its seventh in the country in scoring defense (13.3 points per game).

Vanderbilt is 31st in the nation in scoring defense (19.0 points per game) and 86th in scoring offense (26.8 points per game).

The Bulldogs won last season’s meeting in Nashville convincingly, 45-14, but the Commodores sprung a 17-16 upset over Georgia in 2016 in the first meeting between Kirby Smart and Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason.

The Bulldogs were a 14-point favorite in the 2016 game that the Commodores won in Sanford Stadium.

Vanderbilt nearly upset Notre Dame earlier this season in South Bend, falling 22-17 after driving deep into the Irish’s territory in the game’s final moments.

Against the spread

Georgia is 2-3 against the spread this season.

The Bulldogs opened with a 45-0 win over FCS Austin Peay in a game they were favored to win by 48.

But Georgia beat the spread when it defeated South Carolina 41-17 as a 9-point road favorite, andthen  topped Middle Tennessee 49-7 as a 34-point favorite.

Georgia was a 13 1/2-point favorite when the opening line came out against Missouri last Sunday, but the line closed at 14 1/2 points before kickoff, thus, the 43-29 victory did not cover.

The Bulldogs also failed to cover against Tennessee, opening as a 32 1/2-point favorite before the line closed at 30 1/2 points. Georgia won Saturday’s game over the Vols 38-12.

Vanderbilt is 3-2 against the spread, beating the betting line in the first three games but falling the past two.

The Commodores easily covered a 3-point spread in a 35-7 win over Middle Tennessee in the opener and beat Nevada 41-10 as a 10-point favorite in Week 2.

Vanderbilt nearly upset Notre Dame on the road, falling 22-17 but covering a 14-point spread.

The Commodores were a 1.5-point underdog to South Carolina, and failed to cover, falling 37-14.

Last Saturday, Vanderbilt was a 28-point favorite over Tennessee State and won 31-27.

Georgia football tentative availability

RB D’Andre Swift (groin) probable

CB Tyson Campbell (shoulder) probable

LB Monty Rice (knee) probable

OT Andrew Thomas (ankle) probable

TE Jackson Harris (foot), probable

WR Tyler Simmons (shoulder) questionable

DB Divaad Wilson (knee), questionable

OG Ben Cleveland (leg) out

DB Tray Bishop (internal team issue), out 

RB Zamir White (knee), out for season

Other SEC games

LSU -3 at Florida

South Carolina – 1 1/2 vs. Missouri

Alabama -35 at Arkansas

Texas A&M -6 vs. Kentucky

Auburn – 3 1/2 at Mississippi State

Ole Miss -21 vs. Louisiana-Monroe