NCAA Football Wagering: SEC Championship Wagering Lines
Filed Under (Sports) by steve on 05-12-2009
Tagged Under : alabama crimson tide, college football lines, college football wagering, Florida Gators, florida gators cheerleader, football lines, Football wagering, NCAA Football Wagering, sec championship lines, sec championship wagering, sec championship wagering lines
When the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide meet for the second straight year in the SEC Championship Wagering Lines Game, not only will a conference title be on the line, but a national title may be as well. The winner of the game figures to be the favorite for the BCS Championship Game next month.
For this one, Florida is a shaky 5.5-point wagering lines favorite, nearly half of what it was last December. It seems oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com are giving the Tide a legitimate shot at the upset.
As soon as the first BCS ratings were announced, it was a foregone conclusion these two SEC teams would meet again for what is essentially a semi-final game for the national championship.
Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy has rectified mid-season slump and again is on target to Julio Jones and other pass-catchers. The defense is led by nose tackle Terrence Cody and has a number of large bodies and they have been ranked with Florida all season among the top three defenses in college football. Bama is 13-5 ATS after eight or more consecutive straight up wins.
Just how good has the Florida (12-0, 6-5 ATS) football program been the last several of years? This senior class is 47-6, the best ever in the long history of the SEC and they are impressive 31-17-2 ATS, often facing spreads bigger than the Mt. Cody. Besides the numbers, this Florida team wants to leave an indelible mark, like the basketball team did a few years back.
The Gators are trying to be back-to-back champions and be first Florida squad to claim a national championship being unbeaten. Tim Tebow has put up numbers and accomplished feats that arguably make him the greatest college football player of all-time. The offense lacked the playmakers of a year ago but offensive line has pulled them through. The defense covered up what rough patches the offense suffered. The Gators are 9-2 ATS away from Gainesville after two or more consecutive straight up wins.
This is a de facto BCS Final Four encounter. Florida has the edge because they have Tebow and shined on this stage every time they have played under Urban Meyer. Pick the style of play, the Gators eat it up.
Against teams with winning records, Florida is 11-2 ATS. You play great defense and hold teams to 17 or fewer points, the Gators are 6-0 ATS. What about teams with high scoring offenses that total 31 or more points a game, 8-1 ATS the last three years.
Job one of Alabama’s tremendous defense; take away the Florida dive play. If LB Rolando McClain is making tackles within four yards of line of scrimmage, the Crimson Tide defense is doing its job. The Florida passing tends to run in streaks during games, don’t let Tebow get comfortable throwing the ball.
Coach Nick Saban’s offensive line had played outstanding until last week in Auburn. They have to be great against fabulous Florida defense and they got early Christmas present, not having to deal with DE Carlos Dunlap (suspended for drunk driving charges). Running back Mark Ingram can’t run like he did last week and QB Greg McElroy cannot crumble in the moment for a team that is 7-0 ATS away from home vs. excellent passing defenses allowing 5.25 or less passing yards per attempt.
Sportsbook.com has the Gators as favorites; however from our friends at Playbook.com, we find No.1 teams are 2-9 and 1-10 ATS off a win by 25 or more points. The total has been steady at 41 and Florida is 7-1 UNDER after allowing 125 or less rushing yards in two straight games and Alabama is 11-2 UNDER after five or more consecutive straight up wins over the last two seasons.
This has the making of classic defensive struggle and Florida is 6-4 and 5-4-1 ATS since 1992. That’s why it seems strange that at last check on the Sportsbook.com Betting Trends page, nearly 80% of total wagering was favoring the OVER.
Some college football wagering pundits are already forecasting that this year’s BCS championship wagering lines game will consist of the current BCS No. 3-ranked Texas Longhorns and either the top-ranked Florida Gators or the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, both of who will meet for the SEC title in early-December—Florida is listed at -180 for the conference title and ‘Bama is +140..jpg)
College Football Picks; So the first BCS standings of 2009 have been released and to no one’s surprise, the Florida Gators—+125 to win this season’s BCS championship at most online sportsbooks—are Kings of the college football hill followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide in the two-spot.
