2022 CFP National Championship
Alabama vs. Georgia Odds
Monday, Jan. 10 8 p.m. ET ESPN
| Alabama'Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
| +2.5 -105 | 52.5 -110o / -110u | +120 |
| Georgia'Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
| -2.5 -115 | 52.5 -110o / -110u | -145 |
Odds via'BetMGM.'Get up-to-the-minute'college football odds'here.
And then there were two.
The college football season will come down to an all-SEC rematch of the National Championship from four seasons ago between Alabama and Georgia. Both teams come into this showdown at 13-1 after dominant 20-plus point wins in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Despite Alabama getting the better of Georgia in the SEC Championship, oddsmakers made the Bulldogs a slight favorite. The market has since pushed up that spread a bit to -3 with a total of 52.5.
For what it’s worth, favorites have gone 11-12 against the spread in true national title games since the inception of the BCS back in 1998.
Lopsided History
Georgia hasn’t defeated Alabama since 2007 when Matthew Stafford led the Dawgs to a road overtime victory. That came in Nick Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia has since gone 0-7 with three of those losses coming in SEC Championship games and another in the national title game. Some have been close – with three being decided by one possession – while others have not, including the last two meetings, which Alabama has won by the same final score of 41-24.
Alabama has not only dominated Georgia over the past decade-plus, but it’s also owned the SEC East. Remarkably, the Tide have won 34 straight games against East foes. Their last loss came way back in 2010 against South Carolina.
The Bulldogs hope they can flip the script and win their first national title since 1980. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide are seeking their sixth national title since 2009 under Saban.
Rare Pup
Saban brilliantly plays the underdog angle to prepare his team, but he’s rarely ever an actual underdog.
Unless things drastically change, Saban will close as a dog for only the 11th time since taking over at Alabama. He went 6-4 ATS in the 10 previous games. Amazingly, it’s only happened two other times since 2010. I can’t think of a better betting-related stat that speaks directly to Alabama’s dominance over the past 15 years.
Both occurrences came against Georgia – one in this year’s SEC Championship and the other in Athens during the 2015 regular season. The Tide won both outright by margins of 17 and 28 as 6.5- and 1.5-point underdogs, respectively.
Since Saban’s arrival in Title Town, Alabama has played in eight National Championships with six titles and two runner-up finishes. Bama went 4-4 ATS in those eight games, closing as a favorite in each one.
Alabama’s blowout of Ohio State last year ended a streak of four straight non-covers in the National Championship. However, this will mark the first time Saban has ever been an underdog in the title game at Alabama.
Although, Saban did win one national title as a head coach prior to taking the Alabama job. That came back in 2003 at LSU when the Tigers beat Oklahoma, 21-14, as 6.5-point underdogs.
It’s taken almost 20 years with eight national title appearances in between, but it appears that Saban will close as an underdog in the championship for a second time.
Tired Angle
Leading up to the game, I’m sure everyone will hear multiple times about Saban’s record against his former assistants. That record now stands at 25-1 with an average margin of just under 24 points per game.
Can we please stop with that angle? Of course Saban has a dominant record against his former assistants. They usually coach clearly inferior teams. Alabama was a favorite of at least a touchdown in 23 of those 26 games, including 21 times as a double-digit favorite and 18 as a favorite of 14-plus.