Vanderbilt learned the hard way you don’t call out NCAA football betting powerhouse Alabama, and now it’s the Ole Miss Rebels’ turn to get trampled underfoot. “A couple weeks ago, people started trying to poke holes in Alabama. It was a week ago when some claimed Clemson was the No. 1 team in the country,” sports author, television and radio personality, and former columnist Paul Finebaum told WJOX host and former Alabama QB Jay Barker.
- Date: September 30th
- Time: 9:05 PM
- Venue: Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
Online Sportsbook Odds for Fans Gambling on College Football:
Mississippi +27½ (-110) +3000
Alabama -27½ (-110) -7000
R-E-S-P-E-C-K
As SEC Country Marq Burnett writes, paraphrasing Birdman, it’s time to put “Put some ‘respeck’ on Alabama’s name.” the Crimson Tide pounded the crap out of Vandy 59-0 on Saturday, managing without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts for most of the second half. How bad was it? Here’s Burnett’s recap of the first quarter:
First quarter recap of Alabama-Vanderbilt pic.twitter.com/2GdpTOxlJS
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) September 23, 2017
The Roll Tide extended, with that win, their home winning streak to 14 games, the longest active such streak in the country. Alabama, in addition to that, extended its current straight-up winning streak in regular-season action to 23 games. The Tide has, however, failed to cover in four consecutive home games and is 4-6 against the spread in its last 10 home games versus SEC opponents. Moreover, while the Vandy game clearly went over, the NCAA football betting total has gone under in nine of Bama’s last 12 home games and four of their last five times hosting the Rebels. Having said all that, “Alabama is so far ahead of everyone else in college football right now that it’s scary. And that’s not based on one game, that’s based on a four-week body of work,” said Finebaum, and he makes a point that is very hard to argue against.
Defending Hurts
The Rebels had an extra week to not only recover from their 16-27 loss to California but also prepare for Alabama QB Jalen Hurts’s running game. Hurts averages more yards than several actual running backs, such as LSU’s Derrius Guice, Kentucky’s Benny Snell, and his own teammates Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough.
Defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff said, per Gridiron Now, that he’ll have one the Rebels’ two starting safeties, either C.J. Moore or Zedrick Woods, on Hurts. “We’ve got to make sure we’re matching skill on skill. It goes back to what I was talking about earlier,” McGriff said. “Are we asking a player to do something he can’t do? We’ve got to make sure we have the right guy on this quarterback, because if we have a guy that’s not as athletic as he is, all we’re doing is asking for a long day.” Ole Miss has a habit of covering against Alabama, going 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings and 5-1 ATS in their last five encounters, but the Rebels have covered the NCAA football betting spread just once in the last nine overall games, and are 1-5 SU and ATS against their last five SEC rivals.