Florida Gators at Alabama Crimson Tide
Saturday, 10/2/10, 8:00 PM EDT, TV: CBS
Opening Point Spread: Alabama -9
Current Betting Line: Alabama -8
Opening Total: 51
Current Total: 48
Current Moneyline: Alabama -330/Florida +280
Florida heads to Tuscaloosa to face top-ranked Alabama with both teams sporting a perfect 4-0 record on the season. “It’s definitely one of the most anticipated games of my career,” defensive end Justin Trattou said on Monday. “I’m really excited to get into it.” The Gators are coming off an impressive 48-14 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats last week, as freshman Trey Burton set a school record with six touchdowns. Quarterback John Brantley also finished the game 24-of-35 for a career-high 248 yards and a touchdown. The team is also out to avenge last year’s 32-13 loss in the SEC championship to the Crimson Tide, as they allowed 490 yards of total offense, snapping Florida’s school-record winning streak at 22 games. The Gators are an impressive 21-9 against the college football point spread over the last three years and the total is 16-14 O/U in those contests.
The Gators defense has been fantastic over the early stages of the season and scored a defensive touchdown for the third time this season in its last game against the Wildcats. The unit held a Kentucky team that came in averaging an impressive 44.3 points per game, to just 14 points. Since head coach Urban Meyer came to town, Florida has led the SEC in total rushing yards allowed, giving up just 95 yards per game on the ground since 2005. Through the first four games of the season, the team has allowed 57 points, after yielding just 174 in 2009. Florida is 13-5 ATS in conference games over the past three seasons.
Alabama is poised to win its 29th consecutive regular season game on Saturday facing off against the Gators for the 35th meeting in the series. “I definitely don’t want to lose,” safety Robert Lester said, “Don’t want to experience it.” The Crimson Tide hold a 20-14 edge in the series and the team’s are meeting in the regular season for the first time since 2006. Over the past three seasons under the direction of head coach Nick Saban, the team is 11-2 against the AP Top 25 and have won eight straight games in that particular situation. Alabama has also won 16 consecutive games at Bryant-Denny Stadium dating back to the home opener against Tulane in 2008. The squad is a dominating 17-7 ATS after two or more consecutive straight up wins.
The Crimson Tide has started out strong in games this season, holding a 56-16 edge in the first quarter, which has helped establish the team’s “Start Fast – Finish Strong” motto. Alabama returned eight starts from the 2009 offense and put together one of the best seasons in school history. This year’s offense is off to an even better start, averaging 511.75 yards of total offense, ranking sixth nationally and first in the SEC. The rushing offense is ranked 13th at 244.75 yards per game while the passing offense is 28th at 267 yards per game. The squad has a losing 3-4 ATS mark in its last seven October tilts.
Bettors will be interested in playing the Gators when examining the team’s 12-3 ATS record in road games. Alabama must be respected due to covering their last four home games and five of six overall. Gotta think this line is a touch high and the Gators are worth a small wager at +8.5. We do have 7 strong college football picks for Saturday all ready to go for you. You can get these by visiting our winning college football picks page of the site.
