Alabama is the defending national champion in college football and they are the sports betting favorite to win it all again this year. One of the reasons they are favored by sports betting online oddsmakers is because Alabama has a fantastic running game led by Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram.
Sports betting odds list Alabama as the 4-1 favorite to win it all this year followed by Ohio State at 5-1. Alabama plays in a tougher conference as the SEC is better than the Big 10 but Alabama is very talented. Not only does the team have Mark Ingram, they also have Trent Richardson. Many people believe that Richardson is just as good and could win a Heisman if he was the feature back. Richardson was superb as a freshman a year ago as he rushed for 751 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He comes into this season with even more power, and more experience.
Last season Ingram and Richardson combined for 416 carries. Ingram had 271 carries while Richardson had 145. Most people believe the carries will be more balanced between the two this season. Alabama also has redshirt freshman Eddie Lacy who would be starting for most teams in the country. Not only can they run the ball but they have a very good quarterback in Greg McElroy who can throw the ball and take pressure off the running game.
Alabama did virtually everything right a year ago as they won the national championship. They were 14-0 straight up and 9-5 against the sports betting college football odds. Alabama was 22nd in the country in points scored led by their rushing attack that was 12th best in the country. And that was playing against tough SEC defenses every week. The Crimson Tide defense was superb as they were second in the nation in points allowed, yards allowed and rushing yards allowed. Not many teams did anything against the Alabama defense last season. This year’s squad is not expected to be as good but a Nick Saban team always has a good defense. The Alabama offense should be even better though and that is one reason they are the favorites to win it all again this season.