Oregon vs. Georgia Odds, Picks & Predictions: Defending Champs Looking to Quiet the Ducks

Georgia finally bested arch-nemesis Alabama in the 2021 NCAAF Title game, getting their first National Championship under head coach Kirby Smart.

Now, they head into the 2022 season looking to defend their title. Their first opponent is the Oregon Ducks, who look to play spoiler on their end. What does the betting market tell us about where the value is? Let’s get into it.

Oregon vs. Georgia Betting Odds

Naturally, we should start with the defending champs and how they fare this upcoming season. To start, Georgia lost a ton of talent to the NFL draft, unsurprisingly from a national champ.

Starting on offense, Georgia is returning quarterback Stetson Bennett for what feels like a 10th season, but in reality his sixth season at Georgia. Bennett is solid, albeit unspectacular.

He struggled for most of that national title game, before exploding in the fourth quarter, which is a good summary of Bennett in general. He can make all the throws, but he doesn’t always put it together.

Outside of Bennett, the skill positions are really where the Georgia team shines. They are referred to as “running back U”, and for good reason. Gone are Zamir White and James Cook, but Kenny McIntosh and Kendall Milton remain in Atkins ready for bigger roles.

Georgia will also shine along the offensive line, returning three of five starters.

Defensively, Georgia will still be good, but to expect them to be as good as 2021’s legendary squad is a bit unrealistic.

They still have 5 star talent across the board, but massive shoes to fill, especially at defensive line and middle linebacker.

The biggest name to watch out for is defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who one could have argued as the best player on the 2021 roster.

On the Oregon side, all eyes will be on first year head coach Dan Lanning, who funny enough comes over from Georgia as their former defensive coordinator.

The biggest boon Oregon could receive this year compared to last comes in at quarterback. Uneven Anthony Brown is out, and Auburn transfer Bo Nix is in.

Nix will compete with former five-star recruit Ty Thompson, who showed promise in his limited snaps last year.

At the skill positions, the Ducks are unproven but talented, with the two main running backs from the 2021 squad moving on.

Similar to Georgia, the best news for Oregon is that their offensive line figures to be a strength in 2022. The 2021 line is almost entirely in tact this year, featuring a couple players that could get drafted to the NFL after this season.

Defensively, Oregon will miss top 5 draft pick and defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, but the line still figures to be a strength for this Ducks squad.

The headliner on the defensive side of the ball is linebacker Noah Sewell, who has a chance to be one of the best linebackers in all of college football.

He is partnered with five-star recruit Justin Flowe, and the two of them could form an elite tandem.

All in all, Oregon, who has become known for their offense ever since the Chip Kelly days, should be pretty stout defensively this season. Especially with coach Manning in the fold, who’s strength is defense.

In looking at handicapping this game, I actually like Oregon to not get entirely blown out. I like the talent on their roster as well as the new coaching staff. Look for Oregon to keep this somewhat close.

The OddsJam line prices this spread at +17, so by line shopping we can beat the current line by half a point and take this on Caesars.

Oregon vs. Georgia Betting Pick: Oregon +17.5 | -110 at Caesars