By Only Players Staff
Updated 8/19/24 2:21am ET
Augusta, Georgia has a much-believed jinx. Does Athens, Georgia fall under a similar black cloud? The betting market does not believe so.
The Georgia Bulldogs are the consensus +290 betting favorites entering the season, which coincides with their top ranking in the AP preseason poll. However, only twice over the past two decades has the preseason #1 gone on to win the national championship, as Action Network’s Brett McMurphy indicated.
The Masters hosts a Par 3 contest every Wednesday the week of the tournament. No contest winner has won the green jacket that same year. This potential jinx unlike any other began in 1960.
In fact, Ben Crenshaw dismissed any notion of a jinx after shooting a final-round 74 in 1987 to blow his 54-hole lead. His Dad actually advised him to tank the contest on the final hole but he scoffed. Perhaps father knew best.
The Bulldogs entered last season as the top team but did not reach the College Football Playoff, losing to Alabama as a 4.5-point favorite in the SEC championship game. Perhaps Kirby Smart and Bulldog nation will subscribe to this jinx, if the Dawgs fall short yet again.
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