Alabama at Mississippi State Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will be licking their wounds as they travel to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs Saturday. Alabama is coming off a crushing loss to top-ranked LSU, and it will certainly be tough for them to get that loss off their minds all week. This has been a pretty one-sided series of late as the Crimson Tide have won three straight over the Bulldogs by a combined score of 93-20.

College football odds for Saturday’s game show us a line of Alabama -18 over Mississippi State and a total set of 43 points.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide lost 9-6 in overtime to the Tigers over the weekend in the game of the year in college football. LSU kicker Drew Alleman nailed a 25-yard field goal in the extra session to lead his team to victory. This was a very sloppy game that features several missed opportunities by the Crimson Tide. They missed four field goals, and threw an interception on the goal-line.

This is going to be a tough one to swallow, but head coach Nick Saban will certainly rally his troops to the best of his ability. Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) features the top-ranked defense (187.0 yards/game) in the country, and they still could get a chance at a possible rematch with LSU in the national title game.

The crimson Tide rank 30th in the land in total offense (439.5 yards/game). They featured a balanced attack with 214.4 yards/game on the ground and 225.1 yards/game through the air. AJ McCarron is completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,863 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Trent Richardson is having as Heisman-worthy season with 1,078 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.

Mississippi State

The season hasn’t gone quite as well as the Bulldogs had hoped heading into the year. Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4 SEC) still sits one win shy of a bowl berth, and they have to face Alabama and then No. 8 Arkansas before getting a crack at Ole Miss to close out the season. They have done their part to become bowl eligible over the last few weeks, winning at Kentucky 28-16 before crushing Tennessee-Martin 55-17 last week.

Mississippi State racked up 570 total yards against Tennessee Martin, but they also allowed 454 yards which is certainly a concern. Vick Ballard rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns, which was his fourth 100-yard effort of the season. Both Tyler Russell and Chris Relf shared time at quarterback, which is on par with what coach Dan Mullen usually does. Russell went 9 of 18 passing for 183 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while Relf went 5 of 6 for 61 yards with two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs rank 55th in total offense (400.2 yards/game) and 41st in total defense (349.3 yards/game). Relf has thrown for 1,013 yards with seven touchdowns to six interceptions, and Russell has thrown for 869 yards with seven touchdowns to four picks. Ballard has rushed for 790 yards and seven scores. All four losses by the Bulldogs this season have come against ranked foes, and they haven’t beaten a Top 10 team since a victory over Florida back in 2000.

Betting Trends

The Crimson Tide are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a road favorite of 10.5 or greater, but they are just 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a S.U. loss.

The Bulldogs are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games vs. a team with a winning road record, but only 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games as a home underdog of 10.5 or greater.

Be sure to stop back by this weekend to check out what expert handicapper Jack Jones will be taking in college football.

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