Alabama vs. Missouri Spread Prediction
Listed as four-touchdown favorites over the Missouri Tigers on Saturday night, will the Alabama Crimson Tide cover the spread for the first time in three weeks? Kickoff for this SEC matchup is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Game Snapshot
189 Missouri Tigers at 190 Alabama Crimson Tide
7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 13, 2018
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Crimson Tide are 28-point favorites to beat the Tigers. The total, meanwhile, sits at 74.5 points. As of this writing, 63% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Crimson Tide.
Missouri Tigers
Missouri senior QB Drew Lock completed just 17-of-36 passes for 204 yards with two interceptions in a 37-35 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. A couple of caveats for Lock: The weather in this one was awful, and was delayed for over an hour because of the conditions. The Tigers also had trouble to hold onto the football, as several passes were dropped in the loss. All of that being said and considered, Lock (6’4/225) wasn’t at his best, or close. He threw a silly interception that should have become a throw-away on a screen that lead to a touchdown, and he overthrew or just missed on several other throws. This was not a first-round performance. Lock and the Tigers will now have a tremendous test next Saturday against Alabama.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa is working through a knee sprain. While the Heisman frontrunner is not at 100-percent health, this does not outwardly appear to be a serious injury. Tide HC Nick Saban said that Tagovailoa took all the first-team snaps in Wednesday’s practice, a pretty clear sign that there’s no real concern that the sophomore gunslinger might actually be in danger of missing game action. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jalen Hurts receive a little extra run against Missouri on Saturday. Especially if Tua can get Alabama off to a hot start, which has been the case in essentially every game this season.
Betting Trends
Missouri
The Tigers are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight conference games.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide are 1-6 against the spread in their last seven conference games.
Prediction
Drew Lock receives plenty of national attention as a potential top-10 draft pick next year but the bottom line is he and head coach Barry Odom have done nothing against top competition. Alabama is banged-up in its secondary so perhaps Lock can pad his stats late in the game against the Crimson Tide’s backups but the Tigers won’t be able to stop Tua and this Tide offense in the first three quarters. ‘Bama should roll.
College Football Prediction: Alabama Crimson Tide -28