Written by :
Published on :
The Alabama vs. LSU betting line had the Crimson Tide as a -8.5 favorite heading into Week 10 of College Football. All odds can be found at Sportsbook.com here, which was offering up to $250 in FREE CASH.
Sportsbook.ag Line: Alabama -8.5 & 41
Opening Line & Total: Crimson Tide -9.5 & 42
In the most-highly-anticipated college football game of the 2012 season, No. 1 Alabama visits No. 5 LSU Saturday night in a rematch of last year's National Championship.
LSU won the 2011 regular-season meeting between these two teams in Tuscaloosa, 9-6, but the BCS Championship Game went to Alabama, 21-0. The Tide are 6-2 ATS (4-4 SU) in their past eight trips to Baton Rouge, and have won their three road games this year by a combined score of 138 to 23. The Tigers have played three straight close games, losing at Florida by 8, beating South Carolina by 2 and winning at Texas A&M by 5 before last week’s bye. Both defenses have forced 11 turnovers in the past four weeks. Not many teams enter Baton Rouge, especially at night, and head home with a victory, but this Alabama squad is exceptional on defense and highly efficient on offense. The Tide are 8-0 ATS on the road following an SU win in the past two seasons, which is pretty impressive considering the large the spreads given to them in these non-home games. Also, Les Miles is just 1-10 ATS in home games against good rushing defenses (allowing 3.25 YPC or less) as the coach of LSU.
A.J. McCarron has done an outstanding job for Alabama this year, leading the nation in passing efficiency by completing 122-of-177 passes (69%) for 1,684 yards (9.5 YPA), 18 TD and 0 INT. Although he did not throw a touchdown pass in either meeting with LSU last year, he was still able to complete 39-of-62 passes (63%) for 433 yards in the two games. His favorite target, freshman Amari Cooper, will be facing the Tigers for the first time, but he had a career-best game in his last road trip, burning Tennessee for 162 receiving yards and 2 TD in Knoxville. The Crimson Tide were able to shut out LSU in January because of a strong ground game that chewed up 150 yards on 35 carries (4.3 YPC). Departed Trent Richardson had 96 of those yards, but Eddie Lacy was decent too, with 43 yards on 11 carries. He and freshman T.J. Yeldon each had 10 carries last week, but Yeldon was much more effective (84 yds, 1 TD) than Lacy (26 yds, 0 TD) and has earned the majority of rushing attempts on Saturday. Yeldon has rushed for 357 yards (8.3 YPC) and 5 TD in the past three games. Defensively, the Tide have been outstanding, allowing 14 points or less in every game. They lead the country in both total defense (203 YPG) and scoring defense (8.1 PPG), and place second in the nation in turnover margin (+2.1 TO per game) with 14 interceptions and nine forced fumbles.
LSU's offense was absolutely stymied in the 2012 BCS Championship Game, gaining a total of 92 yards, including 39 rushing yards on 27 carries (1.4 YPC). The ground game will try its luck against the Tide's top-ranked run-stop unit (57 rush YPG) again, with an offense that ran for 258 yards against South Carolina and 219 yards at Texas A&M in the past two games. Freshman Jeremy Hill has rumbled for 251 yards and 3 TD in this stretch. The passing offense has struggled in SEC play this year, as the team has scored just 16.3 PPG in the four conference games. QB Zach Mettenberger has thrown for a paltry 143 YPG (5.4 YPA) with 1 TD and 2 INT versus conference foes. Defensively, the Tigers continue to be fierce, ranking third in the country in total defense (243 YPG) and ninth in points allowed (14.6 PPG).
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
