Teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) have dominated college football action in the last decade. Six of the previous ten National Championship winners have come from this conference, as the LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Georgia Bulldogs have split each of the last four national titles.
The Bulldogs enter the new season as the back-to-back reigning SEC and college football (CFB) champions. They are currently odds-on favorites for the three-peat, but earning such an accomplishment will be much easier said than done in a stacked SEC conference.
The Tennessee Volunteers and LSU Tigers will certainly have something to say, while Alabama Crimson Tide are always contenders as one of the most dominant CFB programs in the last decade.
The list of the CFB Playoffs candidates probably ends there, but we must not forget the likes of Ole Miss Rebels and Texas A&M Aggies as middle-class schools capable of hurting pretty much anyone on their day.
Either way, we are in for a scintillating race for SEC supremacy, with several high-profile programs on the hunt for the Georgia Bulldogs — and plenty of exciting college football betting opportunities are at hand. We will share our main predictions on how things may unfold in the next months, highlighting the crucial encounters and underlining our top sports betting picks and the best-value odds ahead of the new season.
Learn More: NCAAF 2023 Big 12 Conference Betting Odds, Picks, & Predictions
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The Tigers Are Ready to Take Over – Bet LSU Over 9.5 Wins at -114 with FanDuel
Instead of starting with the two-time defending champions, we will shoot for our favorite betting option in the sea of the SEC futures markets. LSU Tigers are one of the teams whose games we will particularly keep an eye on this season.
As you know, the Tigers enjoyed a historical 15-0 campaign in 2019 to win the whole thing with dominant displays from the first to the very last game in the season. The period of hangover followed with 11 wins in 23 matches in the next two campaigns.
However, the arrival of head coach Brian Kelly last year brought the school back on track for the highest achievements in the league. Kelly led the Tigers to a double-digit season last time out, going 10-4 and reaching the SEC Championship Game thanks to a shocking win over the Alabama Crimson Tide. They rounded it up with a 63-7 drubbing of the Big Ten runners-up in the Citrus Bowl.
After such an inspiring run last year, things look even more promising for the Tigers and their fans ahead of the 2023 season. The roster is loaded with NFL experience and talent, with quarterback Jayden Daniels as one of the main contenders for the 2023 Heisman Trophy.
Malik Nabers, Aaron Anderson, and Brian Thomas Jr. represent one of the best receiving units in college football while Logan Diggs seems ready to take the LSU rush offense to another level after completing 822 yards on the ground last year with Notre Dame.
The defense looks loaded as well. Maason Smith returns from an injury he suffered in the opening game of the last season, while Harold Perkins Jr. is most likely a future top-five prospect in the draft.
The schedule does seem scary when it comes to the team’s CFB Playoffs ambitions, but another double-digit season simply has to be on the cards for the Tigers.
They begin the 2023 campaign with a tough trip to Orlando, where they’ll face Florida State, one of two top-ten rivals on the schedule. The other is Alabama Crimson Tide, also on the road. Nevertheless, this team is well capable of claiming both scalps. Even if they don’t do it, they are still enormous favorites in most matches.
LSU Over 9.5 wins in the regular season is the best pick you can have at the moment at the -114 odds. The braver tipsters can go further and back the Tigers to reach the CFB Playoffs at the sky-high +380 odds, also with FanDuel.
Back the Tigers to roar their way through the season at FanDuel »
It’s Still Georgia Time — Back the Bulldogs to win SEC at -110 with FanDuel
Georgia Bulldogs. There is something special about this program. They were 29-1 in the previous two seasons, winning back-to-back national championships. They went 15-0 last year, storming their way to the title in the process.
And yet there is nothing villainous about this school. Nobody sees them as Duke basketball, the Bama rush, or the New England Patriots.
Do people realize what the Bulldogs have achieved over the last couple of seasons? They lost just one of the last 30 matches despite playing against the bowling teams in 22 of these along the way. Do you know what the most frightening part is? Kirby Smart’s troops have no intention of slowing down.
Georgia has lost the likes of Kelee Ringo, Jalen Carter, and Christopher Smith, each of whom went to the NFL. They are also without QB Stetson Bennett this season. However, on paper, they look even more powerful this time around.
The current Bulldogs roster has it all, including a powerful rotation of running backs, a scintillating corner tandem, an amazing pack of defensive linesmen, and an all-around phenomenal offensive unit capable of finding points at will.
Rara Thomas and Dominic Lovett will offer new quarterback Carson Beck explosive options. The players who have returned possess more experience and know what it takes to go unbeaten in the whole season.
Last but not least, the Bulldogs have an amazing schedule, with just three matches against ranked teams in the entire regular season. Two of these fixtures are also at home, with the trip to Tennessee Volunteers being the trickiest game by the end of the year.
As much as we would like to see more drama in the SEC, we just can’t ignore this Georgia team; hence the Bulldogs are worth backing to win the conference again, even at minus odds.
Bet on the Bulldogs at -110 odds at FanDuel »
The Volunteers Bring the Value — Tennessee Over 9.5 Wins at +155 with DraftKings
Some may not recall these days, but Tennessee Volunteers was a force in college football in the 1990s and the 2000s. These days came to an end in 2001 when the Volunteers had last managed an 11-win season.
They have been struggling badly to find the right personnel and formula for years, all up until the appointment of Josh Heupel as the new head coach. Heupel is ready for his third year at Tennessee and has already done something special in his ongoing mandate.
Heupel led the Volunteers to an 11-win campaign last year, for the first time since 2001 for the famous program. The season did end disappointingly for the Volunteers, who have raised their standard in the meantime, being in the National Championship and the Heisman Trophy chase in late November last year.
They have seen off Florida and Alabama before enjoying the Orange Bowl success. This school has shown so much last year, and we can only expect more from them this time around. The Volunteers still have a superb offensive line, and we expect further improvements from the defense, which was better last year compared to 2021.
The SEC title is still a big longshot for this team in such a tough environment, but these Volunteers are in for another double-digit season under Heupel. We like the sky-high +155 odds offered for Tennessee to get to ten wins in 2023.
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