Under Kirby Smart, the Georgia Bulldogs have been one of, if not the, premier programs in college football.
Smart has led Georgia to two national championships, a 117-21 record, four SEC championships and five College Football Playoff appearances. But there is one thing the Bulldogs have never done during his tenure in Athens: cover a spread of 40 points or more.
According to Bet Labs, Georgia is 0-10 against the spread when favored by at least 40 points under Smart.
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Since 2017, here are the results of every game in which Georgia was favored by 40 points or more:
- Sept. 16, 2017 vs. Samford: Favored by 44.0 | Won 42-14 (Margin: +28) — ATS Loss
- Nov. 17, 2018 vs. UMass: Favored by 42.0 | Won 66-27 (Margin: +39) — ATS Loss
- Sept. 7, 2019 vs. Murray State: Favored by 49.5 | Won 63-17 (Margin: +46) — ATS Loss
- Nov. 20, 2021 vs. Charleston Southern: Favored by 54.5 | Won 56-7 (Margin: +49) — ATS Loss
- Sept. 10, 2022 vs. Samford: Favored by 52.0 | Won 33-0 (Margin: +33) — ATS Loss
- Sept. 24, 2022 vs. Kent State: Favored by 44.5 | Won 39-22 (Margin: +17) — ATS Loss
- Sept. 2, 2023 vs. UT Martin: Favored by 48.5 | Won 48-7 (Margin: +41) — ATS Loss
- Sept. 9, 2023 vs. Ball State: Favored by 42.5 | Won 45-3 (Margin: +42) — ATS Loss
- Sept. 7, 2024 vs. Tennessee Tech: Favored by 54.5 | Won 48-3 (Margin: +45) — ATS Loss
- Nov. 23, 2024 vs. UMass: Favored by 42.5 | Won 59-21 (Margin: +38) — ATS Loss
While the Bulldogs failed to cover all 10 of those spreads, they won every game outright, and usually with ease. Only one game was decided by fewer than 28 points.
But whether it’s because Georgia pulls its starters early, takes its foot off the gas or simply doesn’t care about beating an overmatched opponent by 70 points, the Bulldogs have never been able to cover a spread this large under Smart.
But they’ll have another opportunity to end that trend in Week 1.
Georgia is 46.5 point favorites over Tennessee State in Week 1 (David J. Griffin/Getty Images).
Georgia hosts Tennessee State on Saturday as a 46.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Dawgs are coming off a 12-2 season in which they won the SEC Championship before falling to Ole Miss in the CFP quarterfinals (Sugar Bowl). Georgia finished with a top-10 scoring defense (17.6 PPG allowed) and the No. 4 rushing defense in the country (81.5 YPG allowed), but its offense held the team back, ranking only 51st nationally.
Meanwhile, Tennessee State is an FCS program that is already 0-1 this season after losing 26-24 to Jackson State last week. The Tigers finished just 2-10 last season, including a dreadful 0-8 record in OVC-Big South play.
There may never be a better opportunity for Smart and the Dawgs to finally cover a 40+ point spread.
Will this be the week Georgia finally bucks the trend?
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