Ricky Dimon
Show Bio
A jam-packed slate of college football on Saturday includes a crucial contest in the SEC East between undefeated teams. The 2-time defending National Champion Georgia Bulldogs are ranked #1 in the nation and they will be put to the test at home by the 20th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Both squads are 5-0 heading into this showdown.
Here is my Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which will be televised starting at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN. Also be sure to check out our full Kentucky vs Georgia predictions.
Kentucky +14.5 (-110)
Ray Davis to rush for 100+ yards (+240)
Brock Bowers to score a touchdown (-180)
Parlay odds: +761
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. That is some of the plan here, as Kentucky running back Ray Davis having a productive night at the office would obviously work well with a Wildcats cover. At the same time, plays that aren’t correlated drive up the overall payout of the parlay. That is the case with backing Georgia tight end Brock Bowers to score a touchdown. But even if that happens, there is no reason why the ‘Cats can’t be competitive. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Kentucky +14.5 (-110)
It may be time to start fading the Bulldogs before the oddsmakers adjust to the fact the reigning champs looks considerably different this year – or before they start looking like the Bulldogs of 2021 and 2023…whichever happens first. That’s not to say that Georgia is going to lose Saturday’s game outright, but I don’t see the home team covering more than 2 touchdowns in this matchup with a solid Kentucky opponent. The Wildcats have surprised some people this season after losing star quarterback Will Levis to the NFL. Davis is picking up the slack offensively and the UK defense has allowed an average of just 15.5 points per game. With Davis able to control the clock and the Wildcats’ defense playing well, I think they can keep this contest relative low-scoring thanks in part to a Georgia offense that is not quite a well-oiled machine at this point in the season. A struggle in the trenches should help the visitors keep this within the 14.5 number.
Ray Davis to rush for 100+ yards (+240)
Davis is coming off an incredible performance against Florida in which he rushed 26 times for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns. No, that is not a misprint; those were Davis’ actually numbers during the Wildcats’ 33-14 romp over the Gators. He also combined for 150 yards and 3 scores in the previous 2 games against Akron and Vanderbilt despite getting just 24 total carries since both of those were blowouts. Obviously Georgia is a much better defense than anything Davis and company have seen so far, but at the same time it isn’t the defense of 2021 and 2022 that had first-round talent at basically every position. The ‘Dawgs are allowing 113.4 rushing yards per game on 4.0 yards per carry. Moreover, UK will want to give Davis as many attempts as possible to keep the clock moving and shorten the game. I think he has a great chance to reach the century mark.
Brock Bowers to score a touchdown (-180)
Georgia’s offense has also gone through some transition (Carson Beck is the starting QB, for example, now that Stetson Bennett is gone), but it’s still pretty good thanks mostly to Bowers. As Beck settles into his new role, Bowers has become somewhat of a safety valve for him. The junior signal-caller can throw it basically anywhere in Bowers’ vicinity and the star tight end is gonna go get it. Bowers has racked up 278 yards and 3 touchdowns over the past 2 games. In what is obviously the most important game of the year to date, he could do even better than that on Saturday. I would be shocked if he doesn’t find the endzone at least once.
