Kentucky opens as a three-score underdog at Georgia

Kentucky will be an underdog for the first time this season in Athens. Coming off a dominant 33-14 victory over Florida, the Wildcats have opened as 16.5-point dogs against the Dawgs.

Georgia originally opened as a 23.5-point favorite in the early look-ahead odds, that line dropping all the way down to 17 points following Saturday’s slate of games and settling at 16.5 this afternoon. The Bulldogs snuck past Auburn 27-20 late in the fourth quarter of their road matchup.

Three-score underdogs in Athens, the over/under has been set at 44.5 with the money line sitting at +530 for the Wildcats.

Kentucky opened the season as a favorite in five consecutive games, most recently closing at -1.5 against the Florida Gators. The Wildcats are 4-1 against the spread on the year and 5-0 overall.

Before crushing the spread in the beatdown of the Gators, Kentucky opened as a multi-score favorite in each of its first four games before closing at -25 vs. Ball State, -35 vs. EKU, -25 vs. Akron and -13.5 at Vanderbilt. The Wildcats beat the spread against the Cardinals, Zips and Commodores while falling well short against the Colonels. As for point totals, the over hit in the season opener (49), the SEC opener in Nashville (50) and against Florida (44) while the under hit in wins two and three (62.5 and 48.5).

What can fans expect next Saturday? ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats a 13.9% chance to win on the road, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Georgia escapes at Auburn

Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the country with a 5-0 record, wins over UT-Martin (48-7), Ball State (45-3), South Carolina (24-14), UAB (49-21) and Auburn (27-20). The Tigers had the Bulldogs on the ropes inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, the game tied 20-20 with six minutes to go before scoring a game-winning touchdown with 2:52 to go.

Georgia is led by quarterback Carson Beck, who is ranked second in the SEC in passing yards with 1,497 on 72.1% overall to go with seven touchdowns and two interceptions through five games. Daijun Edwards has rushed for 260 yards and five touchdowns, the Bulldogs’ lone 100-yard rusher to open the season. Star tight end Brock Bowers leads the way with 413 receiving yards and three scores on 30 receptions, followed by Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint with 226 yards and Dominic Lovett with 194 yards. Seven players have racked up at least 100 yards through the air.

As a team, Georgia is averaging 481.2 yards per contest — 332.6 passing and 148.6 rushing — while allowing 287.2 yards. The Bulldogs have shut down passing offenses, allowing just 173.8 yards per contest through the air, but have allowed 113.4 yards per game on the ground.

What do you think, BBN? Is Kentucky not getting enough respect following its demolition of Florida?