Missouri vs. Alabama SEC Championship Game Betting Preview

There is always an argument over which conference is the best in college football, but if you take a look at the College Football Odds, it’s hard to argue against the SEC. The team that wins the SEC Championship Game more often than not goes on to win it all, but there may be something of a different scenario about to take place depending on how this one goes.

How To Bet the Crimson Tide vs. Tigers SEC Championship Game Odds, TV & Game Info

Venue: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia Date: Saturday, December 6, 2014 Time: 4:00 PM ET TV: CBS Game Odds: Missouri: +14½-110, ML +475; Alabama: -14½-110, ML -675

#SECHonors: #SEC Offensive Player of the Week: Amari Cooper of @AlabamaFTBL: pic.twitter.com/En0okBs4yq — SEC Sports (@SEC) December 2, 2014

Why Bet on the Alabama Crimson Tide

That discussion may be rendered moot if Alabama can continue to play as they have been over the past couple of months. If you had to choose a few highlights from those past few weeks, you’d need to look at the 59-0 dismantling of Texas A&M, the beating of Mississippi State, and the stunning 55-44 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl last week. As great a game as that was last week, there has to be some concern about the 44 points that Bama gave up in the win. Missouri QB MatyMauk could have a field day if the Alabama secondary is as generous as they were against Auburn.

Why Bet on the Missouri Tigers

Nobody really gave Missouri much of a chance when they moved over to the SEC, but they have confounded the critics by making it to their second straight Championship game. This is a team that looked dead and buried after losing 34-0 to the Georgia Bulldogs, but they somehow managed to put together 6 straight wins en route to a 10-2 record and the SEC East title. This team has shown a great deal of resilience, but you have to wonder if they will be granted a playoff spot if they are able to knock off Alabama this weekend. The question is whether or not a 2-loss SEC Champ is worthy of jumping a bunch of 1-loss teams.

My Expert Analysis, Prediction & Pick

Alabama have been made 14.5-point favorites for their trip to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Surprisingly enough, Alabama are just 4-7 ATS this season, and are just 4-4 ATS against conference foes. They are even worse off in the week following a conference game, going 2-5 ATS on the season. Missouri are 8-4 ATS on the season, and seem to relish the role of the underdog, as they have gone 5-1 ATS when tagged with that label. These two teams last met in 2012, and it was Alabama who were victorious by a large margin in that one. Alabama look very much like the team to beat this year, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their flaws. They are going to have to tighten up defensively if they want to go all the way, but they should get by Missouri on their way to the playoffs. That said, I like Missouri +14.5.