College Football Title Game Betting Preview

It’s an SEC battle to determine the college football national champion, as the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The Crimson Tide are a 5-point favorite at Bovada Sportsbook. They booked their spot in the title game by rolling though the Clemson Tigers 24-6 in the Rose Bowl as an 8-point favorite. With that win Alabama improved to 12-1 straight up on the season and 6-7 against the spread. Alabama was favored in all 13 games this season.

The Bulldogs’ journey to the title game took them through the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia was a 2-point underdog but edged the Sooners 54-48 in double overtime. Georgia is 13-1 SU this season and a solid 10-4 ATS. In two games as the underdog this season, they won both SU. However, they’re only 5-12 SU and 7-10 ATS in their last 17 games as an underdog.

The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs missed each other in the regular season this year and haven’t clashed since October 2015. In that contest, Alabama rolled to a 38-10 win as a 1-point road underdog. Including that win, Alabama has won three in a row against Georgia with a 2-1 record ATS. The Crimson Tide are 4-3 SU and 3-4 ATS in the last seven meetings between Alabama and Georgia.

This is the fourth national championship game since the playoff format was initiated and Alabama has played in the past two. Two years ago in the final, Alabama defeated Clemson 45-40 but failed to cover as a 6.5-point favorite. The two sides met up for a rematch in last year’s final with Clemson prevailing 35-31 as a 6.5-point underdog. Including those two games, Alabama is 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS in their last five games in January when favored.

In the first playoff final the Ohio State Buckeyes upset the Oregon Ducks 42-20 as a 6-point underdog. In the three playoff finals, the favored team is 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS.

For totals bettors, the trends in this one all appear to be pointing toward the OVER. In the last six matchups between Georgia and Alabama, the OVER is 5-1. The OVER is 5-2 in Georgia’s last seven versus SEC opponents and Alabama is 5-1 OVER in its last six games in January.