Georgia Bulldogs (9) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (8) Peach Bowl Betting Picks and Predictions

The 7-2 Georgia Bulldogs will meet up with the 9-0 Cincinnati Bearcats on Friday at 12:00 PM ET in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The new-look Bulldogs come in as seven-point favorites and we’re expecting some defense to be played with a low 50.5 over/under in Camping World Stadium. This is the first game of CFB Playoff Friday and you can tune into all-day football on ESPN. Let’s dive into how this game will go down and who will end up covering the spread. Make sure to check out the rest of our CFB Picks and Predictions as we have every single bowl game covered.

• Bulldogs are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 bowl games.
• Bearcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Bowl games.
• Over is 4-0 in Bulldogs last 4 games overall.
• Over is 4-1 in Bearcats last 5 games overall.

The Bulldogs were a bit unsteady to start the season, losing two of their first five ballgames. That’s when they turned to USC-transfer QB J.T. Daniels, who has turned the season around 180 degrees. The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back blowouts over South Carolina and Missouri, who they would have struggled with to begin the season. He’s completed 67% of his passes for 839 yards and nine touchdowns with just one interception. The Bulldogs have three elected weapons on the outside with Kearis Jackson (467, 3 TD), Jermaine Burton (308 yards, 3 TD), and George Pickens (378 yards, 5 TD). 

This is still a team that wants to assert their dominance early with the run game. With the unfortunate passing of the father of HB James Cook, Georgia will be without their second-leading rusher. Zamir White is one of the best backs in the entire country and he’s rushed it for 740 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season. Kenny McIntosh will step into the backup role after 5.6 yards per carry throughout the regular season. The Bulldogs offense is lethal with Daniels under the helm and the defense has never been a question. 

The Bearcats won out, beating every single team they took the field against. They were given a strong SEC team, but many feel they were still disrespected by not being given a chance to win it all. We won’t get into that here, but it’s certainly understandably frustrating for the players on Cincy to do everything you can just to end up in this game. They’re also steep underdogs, so Sportsbooks aren’t expecting much out of Cincinnati in this one. This team relies on their defense, and they won’t do anything against Georgia if the defense doesn’t show up.

Offensively, it starts with QB Desmond Ridder. He’s thrown it for 2,090 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions on top of 609 rushing yards and 12 more scores. Ridder is a monster and he must have a career-game against a tough Bulldogs defense. When he drops back, he’s typically looking for Josh Whyle (318 yards, 5 TD) and JayShon Jackson (309 yards, TD). Whyle is one of the best TE’s in the entire country and he will see 10+ targets in this game if Ridder knows what he’s doing. Michael Young Jr. and Alec Pierce are phenomenal complementary receiving options and both can break the game wide open if not paid enough attention to.

HB Gerrid Doaks has rushed it for 673 yards and seven touchdowns with another 202 receiving yards. I don’t think Cincy will do a ton of running against this Georgia front, but Cincy will have to run it at least a little bit and Doaks must be able to move the chains when necessary. This game all comes down Cincy moving the ball effectively against the toughest defense they’ve faced all year long.

The Bulldogs are a different team with Daniels under center and the Bearcats won’t know what hit them when they get on the field with an SEC team. Everyone will be faster, stronger, and the game plans will be a tad sharper. The Georgia defense will make it tough on Cincy to do much of anything and I’m not sure the same can be said for the other side. Georgia has an elite running game and now have a passing attack to back it up.

I fully expect the Georgia offense to have a lot more success than expected against the Cincy defense. Daniels will throw for a fair share of yards, but the running game is where the Bulldogs will really dominate. While I do expect Cincy to struggle offensively, they’ll do fine if behind in that department. This game could turn into a bout of catch-up and I’m a big fan of the over, as well as the Bulldogs