What’s the Line? (vs. Tennessee)

According to the current BetMGM odds, Georgia is a 6.5-point favorite on the road at Tennessee with a point total of 50.5 for their game this Saturday. As bad as the Bulldogs have been against the spread (ATS) lately, they’ll be facing a Tennessee program that they’ve dominated over the last decade, including all meetings in Knoxville.

Matchup: Georgia is 2-0 straight up this season through two games, but 0-2 ATS. On Saturday, the Bulldogs defeated Austin Peay, 28-6, but as a 46.5-point favorite. Dating back to early last season, the Bulldogs have covered just three out of their last 15 games. Tennessee is also 2-0 straight up this season, and 2-0 ATS. On Saturday, the Volunteers routed East Tennessee State, 72-17, covering as a 39.5-point favorite. Since the Georgia-Tennessee game a year ago, the Vols have covered four of their last five games.

Coaching Trends: Notably, with Saturday’s non-cover, Kirby Smart is now 0-14-1 ATS when favored by more than 38 points (yet 58 percent ATS under all other circumstances). In nine games against Tennessee, Smart is 8-1 straight up and impressively 8-1 ATS. In four games against the Vols in Knoxville (4-0 ATS), Smart’s teams have outscored the opposition by an average score of 41-10. Although Tennessee’s Josh Heupel has had overall success against the number (30-22 ATS as the Vols’ head coach), he has struggled in an underdog role, going 5-10 ATS as an underdog, including 3-9 ATS in regular-season games.

History: The Bulldogs enter having defeated the Volunteers eight consecutive times, going 7-1 ATS during the winning streak. Before Georgia’s current streak of covering six in a row vs. Tennessee, and eight of the last nine meetings, the Bulldogs covered only twice versus the Volunteers over a decade-long period (2006-2015). Last season, Georgia defeated Tennessee, 31-17, in Athens as 8.5-point favorites. The last time the two schools met in Knoxville, in 2023, the Bulldogs defeated the Volunteers, 38-10, as 9.5-point favorites.