First of all, there has never been a No. 1 team face a No. 2 team in College Football Week 1. That could change on Sept. 2 when Alabama takes on Florida State. It’s expected that the Tide will be the No. 1 team in the preseason polls and FSU has a good chance to be No. 2. So let’s take a look at the latest College Football Week 1 odds on Alabama vs Florida State.
College Football Week 1: Alabama vs Florida State Betting Odds & Pick
When: Saturday, Sept. 2, 8 PM ET Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta TV: ABC Stream: WatchESPN Radio: Tide 102.9 FM (Alabama) / WWOF FM 103.1 (FSU) Opening College Football Week 1 Odds: Alabama -7Paul Finebaum says 2 teams pose biggest threat to Alabama in 2017 https://t.co/imAIXzucLK
— Alabama Crimson Tide (@RollTide) July 2, 2017
Why Bet On Florida State?
To start with, the Seminoles welcome back 16 starters but did lose All-American running back Dalvin Cook, the leading rusher in school history. Last year, he had 1,765 rushing yards, 488 receiving yards (third on the team) and 20 total touchdowns. Besides that, he broke the FSU career rushing record against Syracuse, taking down Warrick Dunn’s 20-year FSU record. Cook ranked second in ACC history in career rush yards and is the only player in the league to break 4,000 career yards in just three seasons. Even more, he also had the first 100-yard receiving game for an FSU running back in 10 years with 101 yards in the season opener against Ole Miss. Cook accounted for 76 percent of the team’s rushes among scholarship running backs.So Who Ttakes Cook’s spot?
At this time, likely either Jacques Patrick, who was the quarterback of a state playoff run in high school. Or maybe Cam Akers, who won a Mississippi state championship as a 3,000-yard passer. In fact, Akers was a five-star signee who rushed for 2,000 yards as the nation’s top high school running back in the 2017 class. Patrick is a 6-2, 230-pound junior who ended his high school career as Florida’s fourth- leading rusher all time.Who Is Coming Back?
The Noles bring back QB Deondre Francois, who was terrific as a freshman. Plus, he helped Florida State secure its fifth consecutive 10-win season, with four thrilling comeback victories, in his first year as the team’s starting quarterback. He led the Seminoles to their largest comeback in school history against Ole Miss in his first game as starter in the season opener. He also led game-winning drives against Miami, NC State and Michigan in the Orange Bowl, but the Seminoles were unable to pull out wins in tight contests against North Carolina and Clemson.What About the Defense?
The defense is led by Derwin James. Described as a “freak of nature” by FSU DB Nate Andrews, James brings a tremendous combination of strength, agility and speed to the FSU secondary. He can bench press more than 400 pounds and has remarkable leaping ability. James has recovered from a knee injury suffered early last season, and is primed to show the form that made him one of college football’s most dynamic freshmen in 2015.
Why Bet On Alabama?
The Tide just don’t lose these games where Nick Saban has weeks to prepare for an opponent. They have two Heisman candidates in QB Jalen Hurts and running back Bo Scarbrough. The latter earned Offensive MVP honors for his performance in the College Football Playoff Semifinal against Washington. He rushed 109 times for 719 yards and nine rushing scores overall. A bruising force between the tackles, 42 of his rushes went for a first down or a touchdown. Scarbrough finished the season with some big performances, rushing 46 times for 364 yards and six touchdowns over his final three contests to average 7.9 yards per carry (SEC Championship, CFP Semifinal and CFP National Championship).Are Jalen Hurts Numbers Good?
Hurts had his ups and downs as a true freshman — he became the first true freshman to play – and start – at quarterback for Saban. Thirteen wins as a starter later, the dual threat had Alabama on the brink of going 15-0 and winning back-to- back national championships. Hurts just scored on a 30-yard run with two minutes and seven seconds left in the 2017 College Football Playoff title game to put Alabama up. Then Clemson’s Deshaun Watson ruined everything for him and the Tide. Hurts’ three worst games in passer efficiency were at LSU and the two College Football Playoff games. He had a rating of 84.2 against Washington, and 88.1 vs. Clemson, in part due to the coaching staff deliberately trying to take as much pressure off their young quarterback as possible.How is the Defense This Season?
Defensively, the Tide lost a ton of talent to the NFL but they’ll be just fine. Rising senior defensive end Da’Shawn Hand seems like a sure-fire candidate to fill one of Alabama’s starting end spots. He was rated the No. 1 prospect in the freshman Class 2014 and he was a unanimous five-star defensive end. In his three seasons since signing with the Crimson Tide, Hand’s mustered just 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks while playing behind Jonathan Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson, among others.Alabama vs Florida State Historic Results
- October 23rd, 1965. Alabama won 21-0.
- September 23rd, 1967. Tied at 37-37.
- October 12th, 1974. Alabama won 8-7.
- September 29th, 2007. FSU won 21-14
Additional Facts for the College Football Week 1 Game
- In the last 25 seasons (1992-2006) , FSU and Alabama have combined to play for the national title nearly half of those times (12) with a combined eight championship game wins.
- Since 2010, Alabama has the highest winning percentage of any College Football team at .887. FSU is in third place with a .821 winning percentage, going 78-17 since Jimbo Fisher took over at that season.
