{"id":121157,"date":"2019-11-30T01:51:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T09:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=121157"},"modified":"2019-12-01T10:05:37","modified_gmt":"2019-12-01T18:05:37","slug":"alabama-still-having-title-dreams-favored-over-iron-bowl-rival-auburn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-still-having-title-dreams-favored-over-iron-bowl-rival-auburn\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama, Still Holding College Football Title Dreams, Favored Saturday Over Iron Bowl Rival Auburn"},"content":{"rendered":"

A chance for an SEC title won\u2019t be on the line Saturday when Alabama rolls into Auburn for the 84th installment of the Iron Bowl. Still, there\u2019s plenty at stake for the visiting Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Alabama’s Najee Harris, one of the top running backs in the SEC, faces a tough test against Auburn Saturday. (Image: Crimson Tide Photos\/UA Athletics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At No. 5 in this week\u2019s College Football Playoff rankings, Alabama is currently the first team out when it comes to deciding who will play in the national semifinals. However, there\u2019s a good chance No. 4 Georgia will fall to No. 2 LSU when those teams meet for the SEC Championship next week.<\/p>\n

If that happens, Alabama could slide into the final spot over other conference champions, as their only loss as been a 46-41 decision against LSU earlier this month. However, Alabama still has work to do on its end.<\/p>\n

For starters, the Crimson Tide must prove they can compete with the elites, like No. 15 Auburn, without Tua Tagovailoa. The star quarterback suffered a devastating hip injury<\/a> in the LSU loss and is gone for the season.<\/p>\n

Mac Jones has played well in leading Bama to two lopsided wins over Mississippi State and Western Carolina. But he\u2019ll face a Tigers defense that holds opponents to less than 200 yards passing per game.<\/p>\n

As this will be Jones\u2019 first road game that he\u2019ll start, coach Nick Saban said at a Wednesday press conference it will be important for the redshirt sophomore to remain calm in a very hostile environment.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s really important that the players around him play well, because that\u2019s going to help his confidence,\u201d Saban said. \u201cMaybe then he could have a little success, which is always a good thing, especially early on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The game is set for 3:30 pm ET. CBS will broadcast.<\/p>\n

Bettors, Oddsmakers Back Alabama<\/h2>\n

Alabama started as a 4-point favorite at most sportsbooks, and that has since dropped at least a half-point, although Caesars is offering the Tide spotting just 3 points.<\/p>\n

Over at FanDuel, 72 percent of bettors are backing Alabama and giving 3.5 points, according to oddsFire<\/em>. Those bettors have put up 71 percent of the cash on point spread wagers.<\/p>\n

\n

The moneyline shows the Crimson Tide getting -170 odds at FanDuel, compared to Auburn getting +145. While FanDuel\u2019s moneyline bettors are split 50\/50 on bets, wagers on Alabama (-170) represent 59 percent of the action. Auburn’s odds straight up are +145.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

William Hill bettors have been backing the Crimson Tide more heavily. Through Wednesday, 80 percent have been giving up 3.5 points. Those bets equate to 82 percent of the money wagered.<\/p>\n

Defense Key to Tigers Upset<\/h2>\n

Auburn\u2019s defense will be the toughest unit Alabama\u2019s offense has played all season. The Tigers have averaged giving up just 306.5 yards a game, good for 14th in the country. On the ground, they\u2019ve given up less than 110 yards a game, 18th best.<\/p>\n

If the Tigers can contain Najee Harris, whose 942 rushing yards ranks eighth in the SEC, then that will force more of the production on the untested Jones.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the ball, Auburn\u2019s offense will go up against a Crimson Tide defense that\u2019s 16th in total defense, allowing 315.4 yards per game. The Tigers offense (55th ranked, 427.2 ypg) isn\u2019t nearly as potent as Alabama\u2019s (7th ranked, 513.7 ypg). But a lot of those Bama yards were picked up while Tagovailoa ran the offense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A chance for an SEC title won\u2019t be on the line Saturday when Alabama rolls into Auburn for the 84th installment of the Iron Bowl. Still, there\u2019s plenty at stake for the visiting Crimson Tide. At No. 5 in this week\u2019s College Football Playoff rankings, Alabama is currently the first team out when it comes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":121158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlabama, Still Having Title Dreams, Favored Over Iron Bowl Rival Auburn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The visiting Crimson Tide are still playing for an outside chance to win a national title, First, though, they must knock off the Tigers on Saturday,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama, Still Having Title Dreams, Favored Over Iron Bowl Rival Auburn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The visiting Crimson Tide are still playing for an outside chance to win a national title, First, though, they must knock off the Tigers on Saturday,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-still-having-title-dreams-favored-over-iron-bowl-rival-auburn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-30T09:51:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-01T18:05:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2019-11-30.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"897\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"611\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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