Top 5 ranked undefeated teams Georgia and Alabama meet in a key SEC game Sat., Sept. 28, 2024 in a … [+]
The final week of football in September includes four Top 25 matchups on Saturday, Sept. 28 including the huge SEC showdown in Tuscaloosa between No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama, who both had a bye last week. The contest is a rematch of last year’s SEC Championship game when the Crimson Tide defeated then No. 1 undefeated Bulldogs 27-24 and kept them out of the 4-team College Football Playoff. Now the odds of both Georgia (-550) and Alabama (-350) making the new 12-team College Football Playoff are very strong.
Bet Types, Point Spreads And How To Read The Odds
An early season showcase of top teams Georgia and Alabama and two quarterbacks among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, Carson Beck (+1500) and Jalen Milroe (+750) with Beck’s odds doubling since the start of the season and Milroe’s cut in half. Both Georgia (8) and Alabama (9) have tough overall schedules rated among the 10 toughest in the country at the start of the season, according to the Phil Steele College Football preview.
Georgia still has road games at Texas and Ole Miss, while Albama’s rough road schedule includes Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma, making the College Football Playoff far from a sure thing.
FanDuel is the official odds provider for The Associated Press, who selects voters for the AP Poll from sports reporters around the country who cover college football.
AP Top 25 Week 5 Matchups and Odds
College football odds from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. All times Eastern and betting favorites (-) listed.
Texas received 44 first place votes, Georgia 13 and Ohio State the other 5 to start Week 5.
Friday, Sept. 27
- No. 7 Miami (-18.5) vs. Virginia Tech | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Saturday, Sept. 28
- No. 1 Texas (-38.5) vs. Mississippi State | 4:15 p.m. | SEC Network
- No. 2 Georgia (-2.5) at No. 4 Alabama | 7:30 p.m. | ABC/ESPN+
- No. 3 Ohio State (-23.5) at Michigan State | 7:30 p.m. | Peacock
- No. 5 Tennessee | Bye.
- No. 6 Ole Miss (-17.5) vs. Kentucky | 12 p.m. | ABC
- No. 8 Oregon (-24.5) at UCLA | 11 p.m. | FOX
- No. 9 Penn State (-17.5) vs. No. 19 Illinois | 7:30 p.m. | NBC
- No. 10 Utah (-11.5) vs. Arizona | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN
- No. 11 Missouri | Bye
- No. 12 Michigan (-9.5) vs. Minnesota | 12 p.m. | FOX
- No. 13 USC (-15.5) vs. Wisconsin | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
- No. 14 LSU (-21.5) vs. South Alabama | 7:45 p.m. | SEC Network
- No. 15 Louisville at No. 16 Notre Dame (-6.5) | 3:30 p.m. | Peacock
- No. 17 Clemson (-21.5) vs. Stanford | 7 p.m. | ESPN
- No. 18 Iowa State (-13.5) at Houston | 7 p.m. | FS1
- No. 20 Oklahoma State at No. 23 Kansas State (-4.5) | 12 p.m. | ESPN
- No. 21 Oklahoma (-2.5) at Auburn | 3:30 p.m. | ABC
- No. 22 BYU at Baylor (-3.5)| 12 p.m. | FS1
- No. 24 Texas A&M (-3.5) vs. Arkansas | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
- No. 25 Boise State (-7.5) vs. Washington State | 10 p.m. | FS1
Boise State from the Mountain West (and new Pac 12 in 2026) received 69 points in AP voting to crack the Top 25, just ahead of Washington State and Indiana.
Others receiving votes: Washington St. 67, Indiana 63, Boston College 55, UNLV 53, Pittsburgh 37, Nebraska 25, Iowa 24, James Madison 11, South Carolina 7, Liberty 4, Arkansas 3, UCF 3, Arizona 2, SMU 2, Navy 1.
Notable Line Moves Week 5
Circa Sports in Las Vegas opens the weekly college football lines on Sunday morning following each week’s NCAA football games. Here are the notable line moves with updates on FanDuel.
- Texas -36 to -38.5
- Ohio State -22 to -23.5
- Ole Miss -20 to -17.5
- Oregon -21 to -24.5
- Penn State -16 to -17.5
- Utah -14 to -11.5
- Michigan -12 to -9.5
- LSU -17 to -21.5
- Notre Dame -5 to -6.5
- Oklahoma -4 to -2.5
- Baylor -2 to -3.5
- Texas A&M -6 to -3.5
- Boise State -5 to -7.5
Georgia at Alabama
The Bulldogs’s are a -1.5 to -2 point favorite at the leading online sportsooks with FanDuel currently showing -2.5 and -105 odds (vigorish) on Georgia. But the ESPN matchup predictor gives Alabama a 65% chance to win. New Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer gets his first taste of big time, big game SEC football, and the edge goes to 9th-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart. The running backs and receiver groups favor Georgia, and the quarterback edge is also slightly in favor of Georgia with Carson Beck vs. fellow junior Jalen Milroe, despite Milroe’s seemingly stronger play this season.
Alabama is scoring 49 points per game and averaging 466 yards per game offense. Georgia averages 402 YPG and 32 PPG after holding on over Kentucky in their previous contest 13-12. But entering the season, the offensive and defensive line play favored Georgia by a bigger margin, and that likely shows up Saturday where and when it matters most. Both secondaries are top-3 in the SEC, and Georgia’s stats are stronger in run and pass defense while allowing opponents just 202 yards per game thus far to 248 for Alabama with both teams allowing less than 10 points per game to set-up a lower-scoring contest. The Georgia-Alabama lowest scoring game in their last 10 meetings was a 38-10 ‘Tide win in 2015. Expect this contest to come in under the game total of 48.5 points, and for Georgia to Bulldawg their way to victory.
ESPN College GameDay will give unique attention to Georgia-Alabama this weekend. The morning show from 9am-12pm ET will include usual coverage of the sport as a whole, but ESPN is also producing a pregame show and halftime show ahead of the primetime matchup. College GameDay now features former Alabama head coach Nick Saban as a college football analyst.
More College Football News, Weekly Matchups And Picks
Three other Top 25 games will also be among the most bet games of the week beyond Georgia-Alabama. That includes Illinois at Penn State in the Big Ten plus the Big 12 showdown Oklahoma State at Kansas State. The last time these two teams met in Manhatten they were also both ranked in the Top 25 and the Wildcats whipped the Cowboys 48-0. But last season Oklahoma State knocked off the Kansas State 29-21 in Stillwater as 11-point underdogs.
The ACC’s Louisville Cardinals visit South Bend to tackle Notre Dame. The Cardinals have played a softer schedule so far while going 3-0 SU/ATS with last week’s fortunate spread cover in a 31-19 win over Georgia Tech. But recall last season when Louisville won their first five games and then beat No. 10 Notre Dame 33-20 as a 6-point underdog to make it six in a row.
The undefeated Cardinals with a a 500 yards per game offense scoring 47 points per and defense that has allowed an ACC-low 33 points through three games is capable of pulling off the upset win again.
You can bet on it.