Circa makes ‘Bama rare underdog to Georgia in SEC title game

Alabama has been an underdog only once in the last 12 years.

That will change if, as expected, the Crimson Tide plays Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 4.

Circa Sports on Monday made the Bulldogs 3-point favorites over Alabama in a possible SEC title game matchup.

Georgia (10-0, 7-3 ATS) already has clinched the SEC East title. The Tide (9-1, 6-4 ATS), a 20-point home favorite over Arkansas on Saturday, will clinch the SEC West crown with a win over the Razorbacks.

Circa sportsbook director Matthew Metcalf said he took a little Georgia money over Alabama.

“I think this is the lowest the line could possibly be, so I expect to see Georgia money,” he said. “I kind of threw 3 up there just to see where everybody was at and what they were thinking.

“I made the line -3½ but have heard a lot of people saying it should be higher, and I could definitely see that. I just want to see the bets.”

Georgia is -155 on the money line and Alabama +135. The total is 49½.

The last time the Crimson Tide was getting points was in 2015, when it was a 1-point underdog at Georgia. That snapped a streak of being favored in 72 straight games that dated to the 2009 SEC title game against Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators.

Alabama rolled to a 38-10 win over Georgia as a small ‘dog and has since been favored in 91 consecutive games.

The Tide has won the last six meetings with the Bulldogs, including a 41-24 win last season. Alabama (9-1, 6-4 ATS) has been favored by 14 points or more in every game this season, with their lone loss 41-38 at Texas A&M.

Georgia (10-0, 7-3 ATS) was a 2½-point underdog in a season-opening 10-3 win over Clemson and has since been favored by 14 or more in every game. The Bulldogs have the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, allowing only 76 points for an average of only 7.6 per game.

Georgia is the -155 favorite at Circa to win the national championship. Ohio State is the +355 second choice and Alabama is the +410 third pick.

The Westgate SuperBook has Georgia as the -140 favorite, followed by Alabama at +350 and Ohio State at 4-1.

Cincinnati is the 29-1 fourth choice at Circa, followed by Oregon at 40-1, Michigan and Notre Dame at 47-1, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at 90-1, Michigan State at 400-1 and Wake Forest at 600-1.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.