Ole Miss vs. Alabama Predictions: Back Bama Big
#1 Alabama host #12 Ole Miss on Saturday and despite the visitors being highly ranked - the early line from the Sportsbooks indicates they don't have much of a chance.
Does Neil Monnery agree...?
It isn’t an everyday occurrence that we get the two Heisman Trophy front-runners according to the Sportsbooks grace the same field in the same game. On Saturday though we very much get to see that as +150 favorite Matt Corral and his Ole Miss Rebels team make the trek to Tuscaloosa to face-off against the number one team in the nation - the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Ole Miss rock up with a perfect 3-0 record but they haven’t beaten anyone of substance. The 43-24 victory over Louisville in their Monday night opener is by far their most impressive result. No offense to Austin Peay and Tulane but they are teams a team like Ole Miss should be able to empty their bench in come the fourth quarter. It should be noted though that Tulane gave Oklahoma all it could handle so they aren’t exactly pushovers.
Matt Corral has already accounted for nigh on 1,000 yards through the air and 158 yards on the ground himself. Those numbers come with 14 scores and he’s yet to throw an interception. Extremely impressive numbers indeed. In Week 1, WR Dontario Drummond graded out as the nation’s top receiver for his nine reception day for 177 yards and a score. Jonathan Mingo has also put up computer game numbers early on as the Heisman favorite has two explosive players to hit down the field.
As for Alabama, everyone knows just how good they are but a lackluster second-half showing at Florida has gotten a lot of people excited that the Crimson Tide are beatable. Not so fast my friend. How many teams go on the road in conference and beat a highly ranked opponent and their stock goes down? This is just an example of just how ridiculously monumental they have been in recent years with Nick Saban at the helm.
Ever since they’ve embraced the modern era of offense, they have become even more of a juggernaut compared to what they were three to four years ago. Bryce Young has a TD to Int ratio of 15:1 through four games. That is breathtaking considering he only took over the reins of this offense this season.
Lots of people see this as a high-scoring back and forth game. I’m not one of them. Nick Saban was not happy with how close it got in Florida a fortnight ago. I see Alabama winning - and winning big.
Spread:
Alabama-19 seems big but I really do think this is one of those games where the big boy just asserts their dominance on an up and comer. I like Alabama even with a 19-point handicap.
Straight-up/Moneyline:
Alabama are too short a price for me to play the Moneyline.
Over/Under Points Totals:
77.5pts is a big spot and even though both offenses have been dynamite so far, I’m not sure Ole Miss is ready for a Alabama D that will have been drilled heavily. 45-24 and 69 points is where I’m at early in the week. Give me the under.
