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By Max Meyer

An important step in every college football team’s path to a national championship is the performance in their conference’s championship game. Emerge with a victory, and your title hopes are still alive. But being on the losing end? Most likely an offseason filled with regret and asking what happened.

There are 11 Week 14 contests taking place over the next couple days, headlined by 10 conference championships. Out of those, six are battles between ranked teams and two are even top-10 clashes.  

The biggest matchup of them all takes place in Atlanta. No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama square off in the SEC Championship Game from Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Georgia is the current championship favorite at Caesars Sportsbook at -220, with Alabama next at +650.

The Crimson Tide are currently 6.5-point underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook after being listed at +6 against Georgia on Sunday night. Alabama was one of six teams to close as the favorite in every game this regular season, and this is the first time they will be an underdog in any contest since 2015.

“I wasn’t expecting Georgia to be this highly bet on the spread, but maybe that’ll change come tomorrow,” said Adam Pullen, Assistant Director of Trading at Caesars Sportsbook. “But if you look at the results, Georgia’s looked great and Alabama has been shaky recently. Usually in big games, more tickets are bet on the underdog on the moneyline. So you typically want the favorite to win but not cover. It doesn’t always work out that way, but in general that’s common for what’s needed in big games such as this.”

Even with the Crimson Tide in a rare spot getting points, Caesars Sportsbook bettors are all over the Bulldogs. Georgia has racked up 79% of the total number of tickets and 92% of the total dollars wagered among all spread bets against Alabama.

For moneyline, though, the underdog has actually accumulated 72% of the total number of tickets. Yet, the Bulldogs have the advantage with 90% of the total dollars wagered in that department, including a Nevada bettor who staked $180,000 on Georgia ML -250 for potential winnings of $72,000.

Only one conference championship spread side has been more lopsided in terms of total dollars wagered than Georgia. Western Kentucky is now 3.5-point chalk after opening as a 2.5-point underdog to UTSA, and that 6-point swing is the biggest spread shift of the week. The Hilltoppers are getting 75% of the total number of tickets and a whopping 98% of the total dollars wagered among all spread bets in this one. That is highlighted by a Nevada bettor laying $360,000 on Western Kentucky -3 (-120) for potential winnings of $300,000.

Meanwhile, the biggest spread this weekend belongs to the Big Ten Championship Game, where No. 2 Michigan is an 11-point favorite over No. 13 Iowa. The Wolverines triumphed over rival Ohio State for the first time since 2011 this past weekend, and now they’re one win away from their first College Football Playoff appearance. While the Hawkeyes have landed 57% of the total number of tickets on the spread, the Wolverines have captured 84% of the total dollars wagered.

“Obviously a letdown is possible for Michigan after beating Ohio State,” Pullen said. “A lot of people might think that Michigan winning here is a mere formality, but you just never know. Michigan is on a huge emotional high, but this is also a huge game for them and you can’t overlook an Iowa team that has a good defense. The line being this high is justified, Michigan just has to be ready to play.”

Besides Georgia vs. Alabama, the other top-10 showdown this weekend is No. 9 Baylor and No. 5 Oklahoma State duking it out. The Cowboys are 5.5-point favorites, while the total (46.5) is the second-lowest on the board, only besting Michigan vs. Iowa at 43.5. Caesars Sportsbooks are a little more divided on who will cover the number in this contest, with Oklahoma State only receiving 60% of the total number of tickets and 56% of the total dollars wagered.

“I made this line a little lower than what it is, but not surprising with how Oklahoma State has been this year,” Pullen said. “They have more respect from the betting public than Baylor does, Baylor just doesn’t have that same wow factor. On paper, this seems like it will be a close game, so people might see the low total and think that this is too many points for a defensive battle.”

Check out Caesars Sportsbook’s latest odds and trends for every Week 14 college football spread below.