Temporary bleachers have been brought into Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., upping its usual capacity of nearly 93,000. Tickets are being resold for four-figures. A playoff dream could die.
When Georgia and Notre Dame met two years ago, the stakes weren’t so clear. Neither team was in the top 10. The novelty of their second meeting ever — and first since Georgia clinched its lone national title in the 1981 Sugar Bowl — still left them overshadowed by Oklahoma vs. Ohio State, and Clemson vs. Auburn.
The Fighting Irish were coming off their worst season in nine years, a 4-8 campaign in 2016 that marked their second-fewest wins since JFK was killed. The Bulldogs were entering their second season with a first-time coach, and giving true freshman quarterback Jake Fromm his first start.
Georgia escaped South Bend with a 20-19 win, sparking a run that left the Bulldogs a few plays short of a national championship. Last year, Notre Dame completed an undefeated regular season to reach the playoff.
Saturday’s heavyweight matchup pits the No. 3 Bulldogs against the No. 7 Fighting Irish.
“I know a lot of Georgia fans have had this one marked on the schedule for a long time,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said this week. “So have a lot of Notre Dame fans.”
The Irish have looked forward to so many other hyped affairs, but haven’t defeated a top-five team on the road since 2005. Some losses have made mockeries of otherwise incredible seasons. Alabama’s 42-14 BCS title game win ended one perfect year. Clemson’s 30-3 playoff domination destroyed another.
Notre Dame (+14) is due to look its part. Even on the road against a national-title contender, two touchdowns is too much to lay against a balanced team that has won 15 of its past 16 games.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (+39) over ALABAMA Crimson Tide: For some reason, the “Process” doesn’t include a stipulation to take the sport’s steerage seriously.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES (+23¹/₂) over LSU Tigers: The Tigers’ new spread offense has the nation abuzz, but their secondary has taken a step back, allowing 626 passing yards and six touchdowns, with no interceptions in the past two games. Vanderbilt has appealing backdoor potential, coming off Riley Neal’s 378-yard passing performance against Purdue.
FLORIDA GATORS (-14) over Tennessee Volunteers: Quarterback Feleipe Franks spent two-plus seasons proving he couldn’t lead the Gators back to glory. Following his season-ending injury, Kyle Trask has elevated that possibility after unexpectedly being thrust into action and leading Florida back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit at Kentucky.
WISCONSIN BADGERS (-3½) over Michigan Wolverines: The Wolverines have struggled against the nation’s best — 1-9 against top-10 teams since Jim Harbaugh took over — even when they were among the elite. Now, an offense that could only put up 14 points in regulation against Army travels to face a team that hasn’t allowed a point this season.
Boston College Eagles (-8) over RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS: Boston College’s loss to Kansas was our gain. I never thought I’d see the Scarlet Knights with a single-digit spread against a Power Five team again.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (-39) over Miami (Ohio): Cincinnati beat the Redhawks by 22. The Buckeyes beat the Bearcats by 42. Transitive properties are a real time-saver.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (-4) over Auburn Tigers: Bo Nix has never played a true road game, and the 100,000-plus capacity of Kyle Field is a poor place to begin for the true freshman quarterback, who sports a 52.4 percent completion percentage through his first three games.
UCF Knights (-12) over PITTSBURGH PANTHERS: I’m not sure how college football can look itself in the mirror if another undefeated Knights squad is left out of the playoff. Since it again seems inevitable, expect Central Florida to throw up one last middle finger to the establishment, having won its three Power Five meetings over the past three seasons by an average of 28.7 points.
BYU COUGARS (+6¹/₂) over Washington Huskies: The Huskies lost their only true test (California) this season, while the Cougars followed a road win at Tennessee with an upset of USC. Washington, which is playing its first game outside Seattle this season, has gone 3-4 in its past seven road games.
CLEMSON TIGERS (-41) over Charlotte 49ers: Because eight straight upcoming games against unranked ACC opponents wasn’t enough, the defending champions delivered a $1 million check to a program in its seventh season of football. This seems like a good spot for Trevor Lawrence to turn it around.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (+5) over TEXAS LONGHORNS: May I introduce you to redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders, the next prolific Cowboys quarterback, playing alongside All-American receiver Tylan Wallace and Chuba Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher. Or as Tom Herman — whose program has lost five straight home games to Oklahoma State, and whose already-underwhelming defense will be without starting safety B.J Foster — put it: “It’s a scene from Armageddon, right? It’s the scariest environment imaginable.”
Best bets: Southern Miss, UCF, Texas A&M
This season (Best bets): 25-23-2 (6-3)
2014-18 record: 641-612-10