There are going to be a lot of college football fans watching this weekend’s action with more than just a passing interest. This is the weekend when all of the conference championships are decided, but perhaps more importantly, it’s the last opportunity for a few teams to impress the College Football Playoff Committee before they decide who the final four are going to be. One team that doesn’t have to worry about that part of the equation is the Alabama Crimson Tide. They have navigated the regular season without taking a hit, and will almost certainly be a part of the playoff picture even if they somehow found a way to lose to the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta this weekend. This really is a thankless task for the Gators, as they appear to be seriously overmatched heading into this one. Strange things can and do happen in college football, though, so let’s not crown Alabama just yet. The Crimson Tide are coming into this one as a 24-point betting odds favorite.

Analyzing The Week 14 College Football Betting Odds: Crimson Tide Vs Gators

When: Saturday, December 3 at 4 PM EST Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta TV: CBS Live Stream: CBS Sports Network NCAAF Odds: TBA    

Why bet on the Alabama Crimson Tide

The reason that Alabama have been so consistently good under head coach Nick Saban is down to their strength and depth at every position. They are able to play the “next guy up” game because of that ridiculous talent depth. The only real question mark they had coming into the season was at the QB position, but freshman Jalen Hurts has been magnificent, and now needs to be considered a serious Heisman Trophy candidate. Alabama Crimson Tide have had very few scares along the way this season, and it’s tough to imagine that they will get one here. They have been favored by over 21.5 points on a couple of occasions this season, and covered in both games.

Why bet on the Florida Gators

I have been trying to think of scenarios where the Gators are able to come out with the upset in this game, and the only thing I can think of is that the defense plays a near perfect game. That would mean shutting down the Alabama offense, as well as causing turnovers in field positions that would routinely put them in scoring positions. While it’s certainly not an impossibility for all that to happen, the odds of it playing out that way are incredibly slim. I think the best bet for Florida is for the defense to play as big as it has all year and hope that they start to frustrate Alabama’s offense. The Gatos cannot afford to get behind early, as they don’t have the offense to get into a shootout here.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

The Florida defense is good enough to keep them around for a little while, but Alabama are eventually going to grind them down. I don’t like the big spread for this one, and think that the Gators will cover.

Alabama Crimson Tide 28 Florida Gators 10