Alabama vs. Auburn Spread Prediction
Will the Auburn Tigers at least give Alabama somewhat of a game in the “Iron Bowl” or will Saturday’s SEC rivalry matchup turn into yet another blowout in favor of the Crimson Tide? The programs will meet at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Game Snapshot
227 Auburn Tigers at 228 Alabama Crimson Tide
3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, November 24, 2018
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Crimson Tide are 24.5-point favorites to beat the Tigers. The total, meanwhile, sits at 53 points. As of this writing, 57% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Tigers.
Auburn Tigers
Auburn redshirt junior QB Jarrett Stidham completed 12-of-18 passes for 178 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Saturday’s 53-0 rout of Liberty. Stidham also rushed for a touchdown in the rout before handing the reins over to Malik Willis, who finished out the second half against the FBS Independent Flames. The three total touchdowns marked a season best for Stidham. Next up is the always contentious rivalry game against No. 1 Alabama next Saturday in the Iron Bowl. He passed for 237 yards with 51 rushing yards and a score in a 26-14 win over the Tide in his first taste of the rivalry last season.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa completed 18-of-22 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s 50-17 win over The Citadel. Tagovailoa also added 37 yards and a touchdown on the ground. This will go down on paper as a blowout, but heading into halftime this was a tie ballgame at 10 apiece. That changed quickly as Alabama scored four touchdowns in the third quarter. Citadel dominated in time of possession as they went with a run-centric gameplan and their only two pass attempts of the day came from Brandon Rainey. Tua’s touchdown passes came from 68, five, and seven yards out. He continues to be one of the most efficient and explosive quarterbacks in the country and the Heisman front-runner. The Crimson Tide host Auburn before their matchup with Georgia in the SEC championship game.
Betting Trends
Auburn
The Tigers are 2-7 against the spread in their last nine games when facing a team with a winning record and are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games coming off a win.
Alabama
The Crimson Tide are a perfect 4-0 against the spread in their last four conference games and covered in four of their last five games overall.
Prediction
Auburn isn’t as good as everyone projected it would be coming into the season, but the Tigers also aren’t as bad as people made them out to be when they dropped back-to-back games against Mississippi State and Tennessee in the middle of the year. Alabama is a juggernaut but the Tide also have a title-game rematch with Georgia in the SEC title game on deck and with this year’s Auburn team sitting at just 7-4, the Tigers could make this one today a lot closer than oddsmakers expect. While I don’t expect Auburn’s offense to move the ball much, I do like the Tigers defense to keep things at least somewhat close. Much like every Alabama line this season, the spread is a tad inflated.
College Football Prediction: Auburn Tigers +24.5