In case you didn’t already know, Georgia is a lofty favorite for this weekend’s home opener against Marshall. Between being the first game, likely (hopefully) using the contest as a means to get in meaningful reps for the 2s and (again, hopefully) 3s, one has to wonder if the folks in Vegas are aware of Kirby’s history of opting to not run the score up against massive underdogs. It’s almost like he’s being…nice.
According to the current BetMGM odds, Georgia is a 39.5-point favorite over Marshall with a point total of 55.5 for their game this Saturday. Notably, head coach Kirby Smart is 0-12-1 against the spread (ATS) in games in which his Bulldog team entered as more than a 38-point favorite.
Kirby Smart has a great winning record as the Bulldawgs head coach, but if you told me he was 0 for anything, I’m fine with this stat.
Marshall’s home opener for the fans of the Herd will likely be a “who’s on first, what’s on second” kind of endeavor, as the vast majority of the team will be new personnel as the result of a massive turnover and portal haul following a coaching change in December.
What’s your bet? Would you bet the farm for Marshall to beat the spread? Or is this a year where Kirby’s out for blood and will use the game to make a statement?
Kirby doesn’t use games like this to make a statement … cough, cough … Junior.
He uses games like Texas last year and Tennessee and Oregon in 2022 to make a statement.
I think the over is live, too. Our roster is so young, I could see the defensive backups allowing some junk TDs as Marshall tries to feel good about themselves late
I don’t know much about Marshall’s roster this year, but it seems they could be Stanford bad.
This could get ugly, but only because Marshall is a shell. They lost so many players and coaches off their 10-3 team that they turned down the Independence Bowl invitation. I think they have 50+ new players on the roster, plus a new coaching staff.
But Kirby won’t run it up. The only thing running may be the clock in the second half.
61!
I doubt we cover. Kirby doesn’t give two shits about the point spread.
If the O/U is 1.5 on shits that Kirby gives about the point spread in these games, I’m taking the under.
I wonder if his attitude towards style points will be different after last season’s slow starts by the offense.
Those slow starts still mystify me.
There’s a difference between RUTS and slow starts. I guarantee he will be very interested in getting off to fast starts this season especially in games like this one. The question is how much of the offensive and defensive playbook is he going to use to enable a fast start in the opening 2 games.
Having been to Vegas, my observation is that those giant casinos’ marble floors and walls were built solely on the house collecting on losing bets for Georgia to cover the spread.
If you want to end up with a million bucks betting on Georgia football, better start with ten million….
Reps for Depth > Stats for Awards
Bear always beat the spread for the Bama working man.