Georgia vs Texas SEC Championship Game Prediction & Odds – 12/7/24

A new member of the SEC will take on a tenured member of the conference in this year’s SEC Championship Game. The Georgia Bulldogs will play in the SEC title game for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, while the Texas Longhorns will participate in the game for the first time in their first season in the conference. Texas is a 1.5-point favorite heading into this one, while the total has been set at 49.5. Here, we break down this huge Georgia vs Texas matchup and give you our college football betting picks for the SEC Championship Game from Atlanta, GA.

Georgia Looks to Win SEC Title, Secure Playoff Spot

The Georgia Bulldogs needed eight overtimes to win their last game of the regular season, barely escaping with a home win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia got off to a horrible start in that game, falling behind 17-0 at the half, but rebounded in the second half and did just enough to get over the line in a two-point conversion shootout. While they were in the SEC title game regardless of the result of that game, a win certainly helped Georgia’s College Football Playoff hopes.

Now, Georgia is tasked with trying to beat Texas for a second time this season to not just win the SEC, but assure themselves a spot in the playoff. Georgia held Texas to just 259 yards of offense the first time they met this season in Austin, forcing four Longhorns turnovers along the way. And with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers dealing with an ankle injury late in the season, the Georgia defense will be confident in their ability to cause more problems for the Texas offense in this rematch.

With that said, the Georgia offense needs to do a better job of limiting turnovers themselves to win this contest in Atlanta. Georgia turned the ball over three times against the Longhorns in mid-October, with all three of those turnovers being Carson Beck interceptions. Beck has to be better in this game than he was in Austin, or Georgia could fall short in the SEC title game for the fifth time in their incredible eight-year run.

Texas Aims For Conference Title In First SEC Season

The Texas Longhorns finished the regular season with the best record in conference play in the SEC. They finished their first regular season as an SEC team by dominating the Texas A&M Aggies in an in-state rivalry game from College Station. Texas took a 17-0 lead by halftime of that game and did not give it back, cementing the status of the Longhorns as the top SEC team going into postseason play.

Texas lost at home to Georgia in their first meeting of the season, which raises some interesting questions going into this matchup. Texas will not have home-field advantage in this game, as Georgia should have the bulk of the fan support in a game that is billed as a neutral-site matchup but is being played in the Bulldogs’ home state. How Texas deals with that will be interesting to watch, as they have been impressive in true road wins over Michigan and Texas A&M already this season.

Something that is a little different for Texas than what we saw from them the first time they played Georgia is the incorporation of Arch Manning into their offense. Manning has seen some snaps to change things up for the Texas offense late in the season, with Manning’s mobility adding another wrinkle for opposing defenses to deal with. It will be interesting to see how the member of one of football’s royal families will be utilized in this conference championship clash.

Georgia vs Texas Prediction & Best Bet

Our best bet for Georgia vs Texas is for Texas to win and cover the number in the SEC title game. While Georgia got the win in the first meeting between these teams, the Longhorns have played significantly better football since then and they should be able to force some mistakes out of Carson Beck for a second time. Look for the Longhorns to win the SEC title in their first opportunity and for Georgia to have to sweat out the rest of the College Football Playoff selection process.

Be sure to check out all our free NCAAFB picks here.