Georgia heads into Week 4 with a perfect 3-0 record, fresh off a convincing 45-17 road win over Arkansas in its SEC opener. But the Bulldogs won’t get much time to enjoy that start, because their next test is a big one: Oklahoma is coming to Athens.
On paper, it’s the kind of top-25 matchup that should have been circled before the season even began. Instead, Georgia is entering as a much heavier favorite than many expected.
DraftKings Sportsbook opened the Bulldogs as 14-point favorites, with the over-under set at 47.5 points. ESPN’s matchup predictor is even more bullish on Georgia, giving the Bulldogs an 83.4 percent chance to win.
That line makes more sense once you look at how the Sooners have played since opening week.
Oklahoma started the season the way people expected, rolling past UTEP 51-0. Since then, though, the results have been far less convincing.
The Sooners went to Michigan in Week 2 and suffered their first loss, 17-10. That defeat doesn’t look disastrous on its face, but Michigan has hardly looked untouchable either, after narrowly beating Western Michigan by one point in Week 1 and then being tied with UTEP at halftime this past week.
Then came a chance to clean things up at home against New Mexico on Saturday. Instead, Oklahoma again struggled to separate and escaped with just a 14-6 win.
That’s the story behind Georgia being a two-touchdown favorite: Oklahoma hasn’t matched its preseason billing, while Georgia has at least handled business and covered the spread with ease in all three of its games so far. The Bulldogs still haven’t faced a true heavyweight, but they’ve done what they were supposed to do.
The matchup also sets up a strength-on-strength feel in one key area. Oklahoma’s defense has been the side of the ball that’s held up, and it still looks like one of the best units in the country. Georgia’s offense should have a real test on its hands.
The flip side is where Georgia may have the clearer edge. Oklahoma’s offense has been the problem, and it has struggled to move the ball over the last two weeks. That gives Georgia’s defense a favorable setup heading into Saturday.
Kickoff for Georgia vs. Oklahoma is set for 3:30 pm EST on Saturday, Sept. 26.
In Other News...
Braves Playoff Rotation Just Lost A Starter At The Worst Time
The Braves playoff rotation took a hit at the worst possible time Monday, when the club announced that Martn Prez is headed to the injured list with lower back inflammation. It is a late setback for a team trying to line up its pitching for October, and it leaves Atlanta with less breathing room than it wanted as the postseason gets underway.
Prez was in position to matter in the NL Wild Card Series, and his absence also carries over into the NLDS if the Braves advance. With only a short window to adjust, Atlanta now has to rethink how it wants to piece together its early-round pitching plans while waiting to see how the rotation picture settles. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Could Dangle Big Names To Fix A Roster Problem
The Braves have already wrapped up the NL East, but the work ahead in Atlanta is likely to be less about celebrating the division title and more about figuring out how to smooth out a roster issue that has lingered beneath the surface. With an offseason in front of them, the front office could have to weigh whether the cleanest path to improvement means moving from a position of depth or from a few recognizable names who still carry real value in the market.
Alex Lodise, Cam Caminiti, Eric Hartman, Ozzie Albies, Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez are among the players mentioned as possible trade candidates, and each brings a different mix of recent performance and contract considerations that could shape how other clubs view them. For the Braves, the calculation is less about attaching a label to any one player and more about deciding which pieces are most useful in solving the problem at hand without weakening the core that got them back to the top of the division. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Leave Cincinnati With One Big October Concern
The Braves spent a weekend in Cincinnati with little left to decide in the standings, but plenty to monitor as October approaches. Ronald Acua Jr. left with a shin contusion, though the early tests came back clean, and Atlanta also got a mixed bag on the field with a shutout loss, a narrow extra-innings win and another close defeat. There were bright spots along the way, including work from pitchers JR Ritchie and Chris Sale, plus contributions from Matt Olson and Austin Riley, but the bigger picture was less about the record than about how the group is holding up.
For a club that already has its division and postseason position locked in, the final tune-ups are about health and rhythm, and Acuas status now sits at the center of that conversation. The Braves do not need to chase anything in the standings, which makes every late-game decision and every awkward step on the bases feel a little more important than usual, especially with October closing in and the margin for error shrinking in a different way. [Read more 🡒]