Favorite flips in Texas-Georgia college football showdown

Georgia was a 3-point favorite over Texas throughout the summer for Saturday’s marquee college football matchup.

But the favorite has flipped to the No. 1 Longhorns, who are now 3½-point home favorites over the No. 5 Bulldogs in the SEC showdown at Austin, Texas.

“This game is very important to the Bulldogs at this point, as they already have one SEC loss on the books to Alabama,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel said. “If the Longhorns win, they will very clearly separate themselves from the field and be the clear favorites (to win the national title).

“If Georgia wins this game, we will see very close odds among the top of the field, as we are seeing today.”

Texas, which whipped Oklahoma 34-3 on Saturday to improve to 6-0 (5-1 ATS), is the 4-1 favorite to win the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon — which beat the Buckeyes 32-31 on Saturday — are tied as the +450 second choice to win the title.

“The new (12-team) College Football Playoff format is playing a big part in how we are pricing this market, as there isn’t the same drop-off that we have seen in the past,” Feazel said. “It is shaping up to be a wild College Football Playoff.”

In another matchup of CFP contenders Saturday, No. 7 Alabama is a 3-point favorite over No. 11 Tennessee. The Crimson Tide are the 8-1 fifth favorite at the Westgate SuperBook to win the national title, followed by Penn State at 12-1 and Tennessee, Clemson and Miami (Florida) at 20-1.

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