The college football season is starting to turn up the heat this week as there’s no shortage of top 25 matchups to choose from for bettors and fans alike. While the Big Ten is a couple of weeks away from starting up their operations, the SEC is already in form with two top 15 matchups this weekend alone.
Let’s take a closer look at one of those matchups featuring two teams with SEC title aspirations for this season.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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Details
- Opening Lines: Alabama -17; OU 53.5
- Current Line: Alabama -17.5
- O/U: 52.5
- Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
- Start Time: 3:30 pm ET
- Television: CBS
- Last Meeting: October 12, 2019- Alabama 47, Texas A&M 28
Overview
Aggie fans have to go all the way back to 2012 for the last time they upset the powerhouse that is the Crimson Tide, a 29-24 Johnny Manziel masterpiece on his way to winning the Heisman that year. Head coach Jimbo Fisher was hoping he had another Heisman hopeful on his hands in quarterback Kellen Mond, but his 189 yards, one touchdown, and one interception performance in the opener against Vanderbilt left a lot to be desired.
The bright spot for the Aggies offense was sophomore running back Isaiah Spiller, whose 117 yards on just eight runs was able to keep the Aggie defense rested through much of the afternoon. Allowing just 255 yards of offense and forcing two turnovers, this Texas A&M defense carried what was a shaky at best offense in the first game of the season.
Despite what the final score showed, the Crimson Tide were sloppy in their own right in their 38-19 win over Missouri in their first game of the season. Allowing 20 first downs and over three hundred yards of total offense, a strong first half was followed up by a lackadaisical second for this usually focused Nick Saban coached team.
While there was no doubt some inherent let up against was an inferior opponent, you typically see these Saban coached teams hang 50+ on their early-season weaker foes. Quarterback Mac Jones had a solid game, throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns, but running back and soon to be first-round pick Najee Harris was the story on offense; running for 98 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
- The Aggies are 4-1 in their last five SEC games
- The Over is 7-3-1 in the Crimson Tide’s last 11 SEC games
Bottom Line
Neither team was sharp in their opening games, which had to be expected with limited to zero spring practices and a training camp where contact was limited. In what were glorified scrimmages week one, hence why no big team agreed to play each other, I think both teams had learning lessons and still knew they’d get away with them.
For the Aggies, three turnovers were the story, in what could’ve been five, and they’ll no doubt get steamrolled with the same kind of care of the ball in this one. I don’t think we see it, however.
With 16 returning starters on both sides of the ball, the Aggies likely didn’t show much of what they have prepared for this contest in Tuscaloosa. While I don’t expect them to win outright, I think they have the talent, experience, and coaching to hang inside of three touchdowns, even if it’s just by a field goal in a line I expect to ultimately reach 18.5.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.