Wesley Hitt/Getty Images. Pictured: John Metchie III.
Bookmakers have challenged a Tua Tagovailoa-less Alabama team all season and it has impressively covered.
Not only are the Crimson Tide undefeated, but they are 8-2 against the spread, including covering in their last seven games. They haven’t done that since at least 1995.
In fact, in the last 15 years, only two SEC teams have covered at least seven — 2017 Missouri (seven straight) and 2013 Auburn (10 straight).
What makes Alabama’s covering so impressive is the large spreads it has enveloped — the average spread over the last seven games has been -24.5!
So can the Crimson Tide cover an SEC Championship game spread of -17.5 against Florida, which is coming off a shocking loss to LSU?
Bettors think so.
The most lopsided money of any college football game this weekend at DraftKings sportsbook is on Alabama, at 95 percent.
If it closes at -17.5, it will be the second-largest spread for an SEC Championship game in the past 15 years. Alabama was -24 against Florida in 2016 and -16.5 against the Gators in 2015.
Big Ten Championship
Despite COVID-19 issues and the line dropping 2 points without any specific reasons, most of the money in the Big Ten Championship game is on Ohio State (-18.5) against Northwestern.
Keeping things in check, however, is a sharp who put in the max limit bet of $1,000 at the Superbook on a moneyline Northwestern bet at 9-1.
ACC Championship
The Superbook is in the unique position of hoping for either an outright Notre Dame win or, if Clemson wins, a blowout.
That’s because, according to the Superbook’s Eric Osterman, the sharps are on Notre Dame -11, but there’s a lot of Tigers moneyline money.
Big 12 Championship
Iowa State is 5.5-point dog against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, but the money is pouring in on the Iowa State moneyline.
Osterman says bettors love the Cyclones on the parlays and the moneyline and the national books show a similar move. At FanDuel, 82 percent of the moneyline bets and 85 percent of the money on that moneyline is on Matt Campbell’s squad.
