Georgia vs. Alabama picks, predictions: SEC title game expert projections
It's that time of year again, as the regular season bleeds into Championship Saturday and in the SEC that means the two best teams are heading to Atlanta, not just for a shot at the conference title, but to stay in College Football Playoff contention, as well. For the East champion, Georgia, that's a given. If the Bulldogs win the game, they're the consensus No. 1 team in the nation going into the semifinal.
But even for SEC West champion Alabama, a playoff berth is not out of the question. At one loss and hovering just inside the top 10 of the national rankings, and sitting behind a Texas team that handed it that one defeat, there's a longer path to the semifinal, but it's safe to say a Crimson Tide win can change everything ahead of Selection Sunday.
Georgia vs. Alabama picks, predictions
Most of the early simulations favor the Bulldogs, but by a close margin.
That includes College Football Power Index, a computer prediction tool that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times and pick a winner.
Right now, the index is projecting that Georgia will win the game in 52.1 percent of its simulations, while Alabama comes out ahead in the remaining 47.9 percent of sims.
By taking each team's projected scoring margin per game, the computer predicts that Georgia will defeat Alabama by just 0.5 points. Or by 1 point, if we round it up. That's not enough to cover the line on the SI book.
Based on the point spread and total projection, the implied score of the game finds that Georgia should beat Alabama, 30-25, and has a 66.67 percent chance to win, compared to the Crimson Tide, which has a 33.33 percent chance to upset.
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More: SEC Championship Game series history, game results
Georgia vs. Alabama game time
When: Sat., Dec. 2
Time: 4 p.m. Eastern
TV: CBS network
Stream live: fuboTV (Try for free)
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams