The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (10-2, 5-2) play the No. 2 Texas Longhorns (11-1, 7-1) in the SEC championship. The winner will secure a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. The Georgia-Texas game will be played on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on ABC.
Texas is three-point favorites over Georgia even though the Bulldogs beat Texas 30-15 earlier this season in a dominant performance.
Members of the media are picking Texas to beat Georgia, but the media was predicting the same thing for the first Georgia-Texas game.
National media predictions for Georgia vs. Texas
“Georgia’s defense set the tone in the first game between these teams, but has been prone to giving up explosive plays down the stretch this season. This game could go either way, but there’s more confidence right now in Texas, which hasn’t lost since its last game with the Bulldogs,” said Marc Weiszer of Athens Banner-Herald.
Weiszer has the Georgia losing, but has the Dawgs breaking even with the spread. Georgia has been inconsistent all season. Which version of the Bulldogs will we see on Saturday?
Prediction: Texas 27, Georgia 24
Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports joined “That SEC Podcast” and predicts that it will be a close game, but he has Texas winning. “I think it is hard to beat a team twice,” said Lassan.
Prediction: Texas 27, Georgia 24
“During the October game, the first-half drives after turnovers shaped the result. Georgia’s two giveaways led to zero Texas points, but UGA scored 17 points on three Texas turnovers. Georgia built a 23-0 halftime lead, and Texas couldn’t recover in a 30-15 loss. I expect a similar type of matchup—a real defensive slog—in which UGA takes advantage of a familiar environment and a key turnover to outlast an elite UT defense,” said David Kenyon of Bleacher Report.
Kenyon has Georgia winning and covering. Georgia had three turnovers in their first game against Texas, but the Bulldogs only allowed 15 total points.
Prediction: Georgia 20, Texas 17
“For an 11-1 team, Texas has been through a good amount of adversity this season. I think losing to Georgia in October actually makes it more likely UT will win this game,” said Trey Luerssen of Longhorns Wire. “Losing is a great teaching tool and revenge is an incredible motivator. If the Horns can block better than in the first game, they win.”
Prediction: Texas 27, Georgia 21
Our prediction
Georgia is going to struggle against this Texas defense again. The Longhorns held UGA to just 285 total yards in the first meeting and I think Texas will do an even better job against the run this time. Texas will not be in anywhere near as many obvious passing situations this time.
Prediction: Texas 23, Georgia 17
Overall prediction tally
Four of the five writers have Texas winning, but only two have the Longhorns covering the spread outright.
Georgia wins: 1
Texas wins: 4
