Tide in Transition: Will Nick Saban’s Absence Upset Betting Alabama Football Odds?

Previous Betting News

Here is our College Football analysis for the SEC Conference so you can start planning your bets against their College Football Conference Championship odds.

NCAAF Betting Predictions – Updated Odds to Win the 2021 SEC Championship

Alabama Once Again the Favorites in SEC

They have to replace a Heisman-winning wide receiver plus five other first-round draft picks, but the Alabama Crimson Tide are beginning another season at No. 1 and are favored to repeat as SEC champions. We’ve seen this movie before. Every time Nick Saban’s team loses half a team to the NFL, they just reload with more five-stars and turn in another championship season. 

We saw some of this year’s starters last season as Bryce Young will start at quarterback with Brian Robinson Jr. at running back and John Metchie III takes over at the top wide receiver spot. The schedule is challenging as always, with a non-conference neutral site game against Miami to start and a September trip to Florida. The Tide play Texas A&M on the road, host LSU and finish with the Iron Bowl at Auburn.

Alabama is a huge favorite to win the SEC West. Overall they are -180 to win the SEC Championship, and the next best West division team is Texas A&M at +1100. LSU checks in at +1600 while Auburn is +2800. 

JT Daniels Leading Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs think they finally have it figured out at quarterback after waiting to turn to JT Daniels last season. The 2020 Bulldogs only lost twice, but those setbacks came to Alabama and arch-rival Florida and prevented UGA from winning the East. 

Georgia starts the season with a fantastic game as they play Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina. A loss there won’t impact the Bulldogs SEC title hopes at all, and the East race likely comes down to the Florida game in Jacksonville once again. The SEC schedule was kind with crossover games against Arkansas and at Auburn while the Bulldogs host Missouri and Kentucky.

With more starters back on offense than the Gators, Georgia is the bookie’s favorite to win the East. They are +200 to win the SEC while Florida is +1400, and nobody else is above +5000. 

Dark Horse Candidates

Texas A&M, LSU, and Florida aren’t really dark horses as they all begin the season in the top 20. Ole Miss is surprisingly behind Auburn in the odds at +4000, and they return Matt Corral at quarterback and Jerrion Ealy at running back. Lane Kiffin’s offense accounted for 555 yards per game last year, and if the defense can improve at all, the Rebels could pull off a couple of surprises. 

The Rebels may rely on Ealy more in 2021, with Elijah Moore now in the NFL. Jonathan Mingo and Braylon Sanders will be options on the outside for Corral, who threw for 333 yards per game last season to go with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. 

Schedule wise the Rebels get Tennessee and Vanderbilt in the cross-over games, probably the easiest two opponents to play. They will host LSU and Texas A&M but have to travel to both Alabama and Auburn. The tough games are spread out with only LSU/Auburn back-to-back before the Rebels end with the Egg Bowl and a trip to Mississippi State.

Kiffin would love nothing more than to upset the entire SEC establishment and represent the league in Atlanta in December. At +4000 to win the SEC, the Rebels are worth a couple of bucks as your dark horse SEC candidate. 

College Football Betting News

Previous Betting News

The Alabama Crimson Tide beat Georgia for the 2018 College Football National Championship. The Tide head into the 2018-2019 College Football Season as a huge +180 favorite to win the top prize in college football.

What are Alabama’s chances of truly repeating? Below, I break down the 2018-2019 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama Crimson Tide Looks to Own the SEC Again in 2018

Alabama is the most dominant team in college football history. No team has won as many National Championships as Bama. The Crimson Tide has taken down a ridiculous 16 national titles. They’ll look to take down their 17^th this year.

Check out Bama’s offense, defense, and strength of schedule.

Alabama Offense

Alabama’s offense starts with a two-headed monster at QB. Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa are both capable starters at the college level. Tagovailoa is the favorite to get the nod over Hurts. That might not mean anything. Hurts has a lot of ability. Coach Nick Saban knows this. He’ll play both during the regular season.

Bama always relies on a strong rushing attack. The rushing game is likely to fall onto the shoulders of sophomore Najee Harris. Harris had a breakout game versus a tough Georgia defense in the National Championship. He rushed for 64 yards on only 6 carries.

Replacing Round 1 NFL pick wide receiver Calvin Ridley won’t be easy. Ridley was as solid of a WR as Alabama’s ever had. He wasn’t as flashy as Julio Jones and Amari Cooper. He was ultra-effective, though. Devonta Smith, who caught the National Championship winning pass from Tagovailoa figures to get his number called the most.

Alabama Defense

Coach Nick Saban knows that the Bama defense lost a ton from last season’s championship squad. Saban must manage without Da’Ron Payne on the defensive line. Things might not be as bad as it first appears.

Raekwon Davis is a solid DE. So is Isaiah Buggs. The linebackers, like always, will be great. Terrell Lewis Anfernee Jennings, and Christian Miller are solid. The key will be the play of freshman cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. and the corner on the other side, Saivion Smith.

Smith heads to Bama after playing at LSU. That means he should have his corner technique down pat.

Alabama’s Schedule

For one of the best teams, if not the best, in the nation the Crimson Tide sure has a cupcake out of conference schedule. You’d expect that because Alabama must battle SEC foes LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri and Arkansas.

The key for Bama will be, like it always is, the Iron Bowl versus rival Auburn on Nov. 24. Auburn beat Bama last season. Alabama figures to take down Auburn this season because the game is in Tuscaloosa.

2018 Schedule for Alabama Crimson Tide

SEC Prediction:  1^st in the SEC

There’s no team in the SEC that can handle the Alabama Crimson Tide. Unless the defense truly doesn’t return to glory, Nick Saban should win another SEC Championship.

Overall Prediction:  College Football National Champions

Alabama is too strong in every area not to win the College Football Playoff again. The team has a strong offensive line, two of the better quarterbacks in college football, a devastating defense on paper, and the greatest college football coach of all time in Nick Saban.