Simulation Picks
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Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
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Expert Picks
A new regime begins for the Georgia Bulldogs under coach Kirby Smart. The transition starts not with a cupcake but against the rising North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC returns several key pieces from last year's surprising 11-3 team. At quarterback, many UNC observers are expecting an upgrade with junior Mitch Trubisky taking over. Yet people are overreacting to the SEC's shaky out-of-conference performances last year, thinking the conference has lost some luster below Alabama. With the transition to Smart, the former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator, I look for an aggressive, refreshed Bulldogs team to win and cover in Atlanta.
This has the makings of a classic boxer-puncher matchup on the Georgia Dome turf. The Tar Heels lost record-setting quarterback Marquise Williams but junior Mitch Trubisky looks like a competent heir apparent. They return a rock-solid backfield and speedy playmakers on the outside, such as Ryan Switzer and Bug Howard, who are integral to Fedora?s creative, multi-set offense. They will have an intriguing matchup against a Georgia secondary that is perhaps the most experienced in the SEC. The Tar Heels will face perhaps the most dangerous backfield in the country in Georgia?s Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Both have battled injuries, but Chubb has been cleared to play while Michel remains questionable. And I think big-play offense will be a recurring theme. The side is a difficult call, but I wouldn?t be surprised to see both teams clip 30 points and send this Over with ease.
My sims have this game staying Under 68 percent of the time. Georgia ranked 85th in scoring (26.3) last year and now turns to a true freshman quarterback, Jacob Eason, under defensive-minded first-year coach Kirby Smart. The Under has hit in seven straight Georgia games. This total got as low as 53.5, and I don't think it's going any higher, so now's the time to strike.