Alabama vs. Michigan Odds
ARLINGTON, TX (The Spread) – The big game of Week 1 of the College Football Season takes place at Cowboys Stadium with No. 2 Alabama facing No. 8 Michigan at 8PM ET on Saturday.
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Alabama went 12-1 last season, winning the national championship in the process. It is the second title won under Nick Saban. Michigan hired Brady Hoke last season and he led Michigan to an 11-2 season and a win in the Sugar Bowl. This is the first regular season meeting between these two teams.
Trends show that Michigan is 9-2-1 against the spread in its last 12 non-conference games but just 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games at a neutral site. Alabama is 8-1 against the point spread odds in its last 9 non-conference games and 5-0 ATS in its last five games at a neutral site.
Oddsmakers see Alabama as the clear favorite in this game, giving the Tide a point spread of -14 against Michigan. The over/under total has been set at 45.5 points (View Matchup). The opening odds had Alabama favored by 11 points. The spread has been on a steady climb and seemed to top out at 13.5 points. However, the Tide got the late push again and the odds are now settled in at Alabama -14.
Michigan has high hopes for the season, but the Wolverines may not be quite at Alabama’s level yet. Denard Robinson will lead the offense that averaged 33.3 points and 405 yards per game last season. Robinson rushed for 1,176 yards and 16 TD’s while throwing for 2,173 yards and 20 scores in 2011. Also back for Michigan is running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2011. Toussaint is suspended for this game, however, as he was arrested for a DWI during the offseason. Defensively, Michigan made a big improvement from 2010 to 2011. The Wolverines allowed just 17.4 points and 322 yards per game last season. This year, Michigan returns seven starters, but will be young up front, which could lead to issues with Alabama’s size on the offensive line.
Alabama will look to stick with what works, a pro-style offense. The Tide averaged 34.8 points and 430 yards on offense in 2011. The Tide lose their leading running back, but still have four starters back on the offensive line and a slew of strong backs, led by Eddie Lacy. Lacy rushed for 674 yards behind Trent Richardson in 2011. Quarterback A.J. McCarron is also back. He threw for 2,634 yards and 16 TD’s last season, but he loses his top four receiving targets from the squad. On defense, Alabama allowed only 8.2 points and 184 total yards per game. The Tide held opponents to just 72 rushing yards per game, which is why many feel Michigan stands no chance, as the Wolverines rely so heavily on the run.
In terms of Injuries, Michigan receiver Roy Roundtree is probable to play despite having knee surgery a few weeks ago while defensive end Frank Clark is suspended along with Toussaint. Alabama receiver Chris Black is out for a while due to a shoulder injury while Amari Cooper is questionable with a foot injury.
The Public Bets are somewhat solidly behind Alabama for this game, as the Crimson Tide are getting 64% of the wagers with odds of -14 points against Michigan.
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