The NCAA football schedule hits Week 12 and already attention is focused on the SEC Championship game, to be played a couple of weeks from now. It will, barring a complete disaster, be a matchup between the #1 Florida Gators and the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. This online sportsbook currently has the Gators as the odds-on favorite to win the SEC at 5/9, with Alabama sporting odds of 7/5.
The BCS’ Top 5 teams remain unchanged from the week previous with the Gators at the top, the Tide No. 2 and the Texas Longhorns, TCU Horned Frogs and Cincinnati Bearcats rounding out the Top 5 in that order.
Florida hasn’t deviated from top spot since the BCS rankings first came out a little over a month ago and with two more easy games before the conference championship, there is no reason why the Gators shouldn’t remain at the top of the BCS rankings heading into the big game.
This week, Florida has a tilt against the Florida International Golden Panthers…this should be a blowout. It is one of the biggest pointspread margins of the season, with sportsbook listing the Gators as 43-point favorites.
Florida is currently riding an 11-game straight up winning streak. They have recorded a mark of 9-5-1 ATS the last 15 times they’ve been listed as a favorite of 8 points or more, but they’re only 2-5-1 ATS in the last eight in that spread range. Although 43 points is a wild spread to ask a team to cover.
Sports bettors are still enamored with the #1 team in the nation, as 74% of all the betting volume on this is laying the 43 points.
A quick note on the Total in this one: the last eight times the Gators have been favored by eight points or more, they have a mark of 1 Over, 6 Unders and 1 Push.
The Gators should be able to get by FSU the week after when the cross-state rivals meet.
Since 1995, Florida is 5-2 ATS in seven home games against the Seminoles.
All signs point to the Gators being undefeated going into the early-December SEC title match against Alabama.
With the exception of a blip in early-November, Alabama has been a constant in the BCS’ two-spot this season.
The Tide also have a powder-puff game this coming week against Chattanooga, but looking ahead, there could have trouble vs. the Auburn Tigers during Thanksgiving weekend.
‘Bama has struggled in its last eight games against Auburn, going 2-6 SU (these two have recorded 2 Overs and 6 Unders in those games).
In the Tide’s last seven road games against the Tigers however, they may be 2-5 SU but are 5-2 ATS.
Alabama has been a great road team in its last nine overall away games, going 8-1 SU and an impressive 8-1 ATS.
This much-anticipated SEC Championship matchup in a couple of weeks will be the biggest game of the year so far in college football.
Good luck this weekend.
