The Georgia Bulldogs are without a doubt the pre-eminent force in college football. They have won 29 straight games, and 45 of their last 46. And they are a few wins from their third consecutive national championship.

BetOnline patrons saw the Alabama Crimson Tide take it on the chin at home against Texas earlier in the season. But now Nick Saban and his team have a chance to redeem themselves as they line up for the SEC Championship game, which takes place on Saturday at 4 PM ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The Tide was the last team to beat Georgia, handling them pretty easily (41-24) in the SEC title game in 2021. But Georgia turned around and beat them in the national title game. This Alabama team is not as good as that one. And they have had some close calls, most notably in the Iron Bowl last week as they had to complete a miraculous fourth-down pass from the 31-yard line to defeat archrival Auburn.

It would be quite a story if 'Bama went on to win the national title. And there is a path to doing that. Of course, they have to beat Georgia on Saturday. That should get them a spot among the final four teams chosen for the playoff.

But if that happens, what to do with Georgia? It becomes a real dilemma, because it's hard t leave the Bulldogs out, even if they've lost a game. And that might just leave an undefeated team out of it.

It's been an interesting season for the Alabama offense, because after Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young departed for the NFL, that left them with Jalen Milroe as the starting quarterback. And he struggled mightily against Texas. But he has gradually grown into the role, turning into the dual threat a lot of people expected he might be.

After Stetson Bennett led them to two championships, Georgia had to replace its signal-caller as well. It was hoped that Carson Beck might fit into the role, and he has succeeded. The Bulldogs kept rolling despite losing All-America tight end Brock Bowers for a time with an injury.

In the SEC Championship betting odds that have been posted on this game by the people at BetOnline, the Dawgs are laying points:

Georgia Bulldogs -5
Alabama Crimson Tide +5

Over 53.5 Points -110
Under 53.5 Points -110

Both of these teams brought in new offensive coordinators this season. Mike Bobo, a former starting quarterback at Georgia, replaces former Bulldog coordinator Todd Monken, who now fills that role with the Baltimore Ravens. Saban replaced Bill O'Brien (with the New England Patriots) with Tommy Rees, who played quarterback at Notre Dame.

Milroe has responded to Rees' tutelage, as he has averaged 10.6 yards per attempt, with 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He has also run for 439 yards and a dozen scores. What is particularly impressive about Milroe is that in passes that have gone 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage, he's thrown for 15 touchdowns with just one interception.

He'll be without running back Jase McClellan (knee injury), but we don't see a real dropoff with Roydell Williams (497 yards, 5.3 ypc).

Carson Beck has completed 72% of his passes for 3495 yards and 22 touchdowns. So he is more than capable. And he's gotten a boost from transfer receivers like Dominic Lovett (552 yards) and Rara Thomas (383). Of course, the consensus choice for best tight end in the country (Brock Bowers) at his disposal.

Georgia's defense has been more than solid (allowing 176.5 passing yards and 15.8 points per game), but the Bulldogs have also permitted four yards a rush, which may open things up for 'Bama to establish a ground attack. The Tide topped 400 yards of offense only twice in the first eight games of the season. But they averaged 467 yards in their last three SEC contests. So they come in with a lot of momentum.

That's on the offensive side. Defensively, it was not a banner day against Auburn, which had been whipped by three touchdowns against New Mexico State. They gave up 244 rushing yards to the War Eagle.

Georgia may succeed in slowing the explosive plays downfield. These are indeed two very good defenses. But great athletes in a great offense can beat a good defense these days, so we would expect more scoring than the posted total indicates. So we're going OVER.

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