As No. 18 Georgia gets ready to host New Mexico State on Saturday, all signs point to a healthy margin of victory for the Bulldogs, even though they'll be without Isaiah Crowell and a host of other tailbacks. The oddsmakers have them pegged as 33-point favorites, they are coming off a victory over Florida and their defense is once again looking dominant.
The folks at Dawg Sports point all of this out, but also make note of something else:
In total the Dawgs rank seventh in the whole nation (also known as fourth in the conference) in total defense, and are in a position to potentially play in the SEC championship with a little help from Arkansas or Florida. The defense is statistically good, but the quality of the opponents is something of an elephant in the room.
The Aggies are no one's idea of a juggernaut, but they can at least play a little offense. They are averaging 418.5 total yards of offense per game (45th in the nation), including 315.1 through the air (15th), and score 28.4 points per game (65th). They are led by quarterback Matt Christian, who has thrown for 1,292 yards and 11 touchdowns while compiling a 146.8 rating since becoming the starter on Sept. 24. It's also worth noting that New Mexico State did win at Minnesota earlier this year.
Game date, time: 12:30 pm ET, Saturday, Nov. 5
Location: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
TV channel: ESPN GamePlan/ESPN3
Spread: Georgia favored by 33
Series history: Georgia leads 3-0-0
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