Georgia will be an underdog at Texas, a rare occurrence under Kirby Smart
Georgia is in somewhat unfamiliar territory this week.
Well, very unfamiliar territory. Yes, Georgia will be traveling to Austin for just the second time ever (and the first since 1958). But Georgia will be doing so as an underdog. In the Kirby Smart era, the Bulldogs have been a betting underdog 11 times. Saturday’s game against the top-ranked Longhorns will be No. 12.
At DraftKings, the Longhorns opened as a 3.5-point favorite.
Texas is 6-0 and will be coming off an emotional 34-3 win over Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry. Georgia is 5-1 on the season, but, curiously, the Dawgs are just 1-5 against the spread. They’ve failed to cover the spread in each of their last 5 games, including as a 21-point favorite against Auburn and a 33-point favorite against Mississippi State.
Georgia is still trying to get in gear this season, with key faces from last year’s squad proving a bit more difficult to replace. It likely wasn’t a huge surprise to see the Dawgs open as a dog.
Still, it’s a bit unprecedented.
Including postseason games, Georgia has been favored in 49 consecutive games. The last time the Bulldogs closed as an underdog on the betting market was Sept. 4, 2021, when they opened the season against No. 3 Clemson.
Georgia won that game 10-3.
The Bulldogs closed as an underdog in a game 5 times during the 2016 season — Smart’s first in Athens. The Dawgs went 2-3 in those games, including a 31-23 win over TCU in the bowl game.
Since, Georgia has been an underdog only 6 other times. The Dawgs are 2-4 in those games.
While the Dawgs have a losing record outright as an underdog under Smart, Georgia is 7-4 against the spread in those games.
Below is every instance in which Georgia has been an underdog:
- Sept. 4, 2021: 3-point underdog vs. No. 3 Clemson (10-3 win)
- Oct. 17, 2020: 6-point underdog at No. 2 Alabama (41-24 loss)
- Dec. 7, 2019: 7.5-point underdog vs. No. 1 LSU (37-10 loss)
- Dec. 1, 2018: 11-point underdog vs. No. 1 Alabama (35-28 loss)
- Jan. 8, 2018: 3.5-point underdog vs. No. 4 Alabama (26-23 loss)
- Sept. 9, 2017: 5.5-point underdog at No. 24 Notre Dame (20-19 win)
- Dec. 30, 2016: 3-point underdog vs. TCU (31-23 win)
- Nov. 12, 2016: 10-point underdog vs. No. 8 Auburn (13-7 win)
- Oct. 29, 2016: 7-point underdog vs. No. 14 Florida (24-10 loss)
- Oct. 1, 2016: 3.5-point underdog vs. No. 11 Tennessee (34-31 loss)
- Sept. 24, 2016: 7-point underdog at No. 23 Ole Miss (45-14 loss)
Smart said after his team’s win over Mississippi State that Georgia did not look ahead at all, even during the team’s off week. They focused on who was immediately ahead of them. Now, they’ll turn their attention to Texas.
“I know it’s the SEC environment. I know it’s a top-10 matchup. I mean, you’re talking about powerhouse programs,” Smart said. “So, at least we played at Kentucky, which was really hard. We played at Alabama, which was really hard. And so we’ve got some experience in that environment. But it’ll be a road environment.”
And a little bit different.
All those rankings and doing less with more. The Kirby way.
The Hillbilly head coach is not an offensive genius. How much is his buyout?
4,3,2,1 ranked classes, resorts to blaming fans, physically assaulting opposing QB’s and cries on the field. You recruits are burning up our hotlines.
Why can’t Hype-L recruit better? It has been 4 years. If not now, When?
You can ask them when you call them. Please hurry. We don’t have room for them all.
I called some Vol Recruits and Sam Pittman picked up. What gives?
Call your recruits. We don’t have room for them all.
This guy volt must bust me g whites less educated cousin ( and that is saying something). Calling Kirby overrated from fan of a team that has done nothing in football this century may be the dumbest comment that could be said .
I got a chuckle out of the g white comment.
Gwhites less educated cousin…now that my friend is solid gold…lol
To say someone is less educated than g white is very hard humper ;However, this guy is making it easier and more believable with each post . When one idiot can bring so many rival fan bases together to counteract his ignorance is also a significant accomplishment .
8115, that’s what can happen when family trees don’t have enough branches because too many hillbillies married their cousins. You end up having to look for the offsprings one wrung down the evolutionary ladder. That’s where you should be able to find both gwhite and his dumber cousin choo-choo.
It’s been a while since both gaytors and Choking bulldogs have been this mad at VOLS at the SAME TIME. I wonder what it could mean. When was the last time? Oh yeah…
Being mad is a lot different than pitty volt .. congrats again on the win in as it is just the 3rd time in the last 20 years you have had this enjoyment. To be a 16 point favorite and barely escape this gator team deff shows a lot ( we can always discuss the Arkansas debacle last week). Also why would uga be mad at the vols ? What has Tennessee done to them to make them
Mad ( it is deff not beating them on the field )? When is the last time the vols
Beat the gators and dawgs in the season or even had a winning streak against either school ? Give your cousin g white all are best wishes at the upcoming family reunion .
Gaytors and Choking dawgs being mad at the same time is an old familiar occurrence. It will become more common as first Florida, then Alabama and eventually Georgia all slide back down to their historical and rightful places behind Tennessee in the SEC.
Very happy we’re underdogs!! Hopefully it adds a bit more motivation than usual.
If this team is ever going to find it’s identity this year, now’s the time.
Maybe it has. Unlike other seasons the identity is the offense. Having three DBacks from last year playing on Sunday takes a toll. Carson Beck is going to have to put this team on his back. I will reserve judgement until the season is complete but it might just be a down year. Even Bama and the GOAT had down years. It happens.
Yup…true dat. My wife sarcastically asked me Saturday evening during the second half breakdown if they found their identity yet and I responded I hope this isn’t it but maybe they have…she said it’s a good time to lower expectations, they aren’t that good this year.
And because of your exemplary character you jumped out of your chair and exclaimed, “That’s exactly what voltrainconductor tried to tell me for 9 months!”
Jtf you have no excuse. You’ve been told over and over since January. No one with a high IQ is this slow.
For what it’s worth Humper, I haven’t drunk Texas tea yet this year. They’re still more Big 12 than SEC to me, until they show me otherwise.
This is the Horns’ first real test against the class of the SEC this season. UGA has been doing their usual early season rope-the-dopes trick and almost got away with it in T-Town. The Horns are gonna find that Dawg defense to be a cut above anything they’ve faced this year.
My question is has the Dawg OL healed up enough yet to play all their first stringers against that Texas DL? If they have, the Horns may be in for a long afternoon.
Take the points!
We should run the ball off tackle and sweeps more. Not everything has to be between the tackles. That will surely help the offense not force Carson to be Superman.
They should call their recruits.
I will betting on Texas.
The sure bet is Kirby will cry on the field and blame someone else.
“I will betting on Texas.”
Alabama grammar, everyone!
Cut him some slack. We are lucky he didn’t say Vanderbilt.
My personal opinion. Kirby circled the whorn game before the season started. And has been playing rope a dope. Including against Bama. And it cost him. I watched Saban do it time & again. The fits being thrown are just part of the show.
Good to see the mutts well on their way to 9-3 as I predicted before the season. Enjoy the sights of Tampa during your Outback Bowl trip this year, mutt fans!
lol
okay Little Johnny, please point on the doll where you think Kirby touches you in your nightmares
lol, after the hillbillies get curb stomped in Athens in 11/16/2024, yet again, all this blustering and hillbilly crowing will disappear, just like it has done year after year since 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998.
lol, after the hillbillies get curb stomped in Athens in 11/16/2024, yet again, all this blustering and hillbilly crowing will disappear, just like it has done year after year since 1998 1998 1998 1998 1998.
If you’re not UK’s or Vandy’s b1tches you are Mizzou’s b1tches. If you’re not Mizzou’s b1tches you are UF’s b1tches. If you’re not UF’s b1tches you are Bama’s b1tches. If you’re not Bama’s b1tches you are UGA’s b1tches. It’s been over a quarter of a century since you weren’t somebody’s b1tch,
UT is always somebody’s b1tch.
You better drop the little brother act with UGA and worry about Vandy. Vandy’s win over Bama was much more impressive than Halley’s Comet, err UT’s win over Bama.
Remember 2022? UT BEAT BAMA, UT IS #1, uh what just happened in Athens?, UT IS THE BEST 1-LOSS TEAM, UT WILL BEAT UGA IN A REMATCH, uh South Carolina please use some buutt lube next time …
Don’t worry hillbillies, you’ve got Orlando in January, no better place to grudge f__k your cousin than in the winter warmth and sunshine of middle Florida.
Added bonus for hillbilly nation in the 2024/2025 off season – after Oklahoma and Jethro Heupel kiss and make-up Knoxville and East Tennessee will experience significant grocery price deflation!