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Carrie Stroup here with your Georgia vs. Missouri line for Week 2 of the 2012 College Football season. Be sure to claim your FREE $250 when signing up here to bet online (restrictions do apply)
Line & Total: Georgia -2 & 54.5
Opening Line & Total: Bulldogs 3 (-115) & 55
Missouri makes its SEC debut on Saturday nights when it hosts No. 7 Georgia at Faurot Field.
The Bulldogs didn’t look like a top-10 team in an unimpressive 45-23 home win over 37½-point underdog Buffalo last week. However, Aaron Murray still threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, while freshman Todd Gurley had 100 rushing yards and three scores in his collegiate debut. The Tigers crushed Southeastern Louisiana 62-10 behind two punt return TD from Marcus Murphy and two rushing scores from Kendial Lawrence, who had 121 yards on 10 carries. This should be a tight contest, with Missouri fans partying all day to get ready for the conference debut. Both teams have great offenses, which bodes well for Georgia, considering the school is 11-2 ATS (85%) in road contests where the total is between 52½ and 56 points since 1992. Also, the Tigers have been prone to letdowns after big victories, as they are just 8-20 ATS (29%) after a win by 28+ points since 1992.
Much has been made of Georgia’s suspect rushing attack that has lost its top running backs to injuries and suspensions in recent years. Freshman Todd Gurley had quite a collegiate debut against Buffalo, getting his 100 yards on just eight carries and running back a kickoff 100 yards as his third score. Fellow freshman RB Keith Marshall also shined against the Bulls with 46 yards on just 10 carries. Expect Georgia to attack through the air in this game with Murray who averaged 17.2 yards per completion last week. He should have little trouble lighting up a Tigers secondary that allowed 253 passing YPG last year (94th in nation). The Bulldogs are expected to be short-handed on the defensive end with the suspensions of star LB Alec Ogletree and safety Bacarri Rambo. Two lesser-known defenders, LB Chase Vasser and CB Sanders Commings, also anticipate missing this game due to lingering suspensions.
Missouri received bad news shortly before the opener that star RB Henry Josey (knee) would indeed miss the entire 2012 season. However, Lawrence, who gained 566 yards (4.8 YPC) last season, was a fine replacement and should be able to find running room on Saturday night against a Bulldogs defense that allowed 199 rushing yards last week. QB James Franklin also uses his legs a lot, amassing 981 rushing yards and 15 TD in 2011. His passing versus Southeastern Louisiana was also pretty effective, as he went 13-of-21 for 131 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. Missouri’s improved defense up front really stuffed the run in last week’s victory, allowing the Lions to gain just 58 yards on 34 carries (1.7 YPC).
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
