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Arkansas vs. Alabama: College Football Week 7 Odds & Picks (2023)

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Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Saturday’s game: Arkansas vs. Alabama.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Arkansas vs. Alabama

These teams have the firepower to go over this total, but I’m going to lean on the defensive side for both teams. Arkansas has been relying on KJ Jefferson too heavily. He leads the team in passing and rushing. Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders is back and had eight carries against Ole Miss, but they only went for 15 yards. He doesn’t seem to be quite right yet. Alabama is currently 14th in scoring, 24th in rushing and 30th in passing on the defensive side of the ball. PFF has Bama as the No. 1 graded team on defense after they’ve allowed only 10 PPG in their last three games.

Offensively, Alabama is nowhere near their peak, although they are improving. The Tide put up 40 against Mississippi State two weeks ago and 26 on a tough Texas A&M defense. Jalen Milroe has been better recently. He put up over 300 yards passing against Texas A&M and only has one turnover in the last two weeks.  

Offensively, Bama is 55th in scoring, 85th in passing and 84th in rushing. They are building, but they aren’t there yet, especially with an SEC schedule. Arkansas is tied for the most pick-sixs in the nation with three, but I don’t think Bama will put the ball in harm’s way too often in this one. Arkansas is a little above average in plays per game, but I expect Alabama to set the tone, and they are a bit below average. This should be a low-scoring, punt-heavy, field position type of battle that bleeds the clock and cruises to the Under.

Bet: UNDER 47.0 (-110)

Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners

Game Total

Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that’s it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it’s called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.

ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42

tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.

Moneyline

The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That’s it. The moneyline doesn’t use favorites or underdogs, it’s totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they’re weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.

For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don’t matter, they just need to win the game. But because it’s safer to take them straight-up without points, you’ll have to risk more when you make the bet — remember, they’re seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it’s a riskier bet — they’re seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog — +220 on the moneyline. You’d win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.

ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)

tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.

Player Props

Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they’re also easy to understand. For major conferences, you’ll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It’s simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don’t vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.

ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California?  Over 250 or Under 250 

tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they’re going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.


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