It’s official: Alabama is not only the No. 1 team in the country by every metric imaginable; the Crimson Tide are also the best team to bet on in the country.
Alabama leads the country in covering spreads by an average of 19.8 points per game, just outpacing Cincinnati (19.3), Utah State (18.3) and Vanderbilt (18.3).
That’s amazing considering the huge spreads oddsmakers have pinned on Alabama, but with the two-headed monster of Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts at quarterback and Nick Saban at the helm, the Tide are seemingly unstoppable.
All in all, there are 19 teams left unbeaten against the spread, including a handful with Top 25 credentials: Alabama, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Texas A&M and Boston College.
Those last two are new to the GMS power rankings. Both are unbeaten against the spread and have done so against at least one Power Five opponent.
Related: College Football Betting Guide
Dropping out from last week’s rankings are Wisconsin and Arizona State, who, as favorites, suffered straight-up upset losses.
NCAA Power Rankings – Week 4
- Alabama (3-0, 3-0 ATS, last week: 1)
The 22-point spread the Tide had against Ole Miss on the road proved to be no match. In fact, Alabama nearly had it covered by the end of the first quarter. They had extended the lead to 59-7 midway through the third quarter. The only downside was for gamblers who had backed the over of 70: The teams combined for only three points over the final 20 minutes of the game, pushing the total to 69.
- Ohio State (3-0, 2-1 ATS, last week: 4)
A small line movement, from 12 points to 12.5, cost any late-week Ohio State backers as the Buckeyes took out TCU 40-28. The team’s habit of giving up big plays to opposing offenses continued, and in this case it meant Ohio State found itself in a ballgame into the fourth quarter. Still, Ohio State notched a huge neutral-site (that was much closer to TCU) victory against a potential top 25 team. Up next: The Buckeyes have a gimme at home against Tulane to get past the distraction of coach Urban Meyer’s return before a huge game against Penn State.
- Georgia (3-0, 2-1 ATS, last week: 4)
The Bulldogs took care of a big spread for the second straight week, taking out Middle Tennessee despite a game that was moved up three hours to stay out of the way of Hurricane Florence. Now Georgia really gets into the meat of its schedule, with a tricky trip to Missouri against dark-horse Heisman contender Drew Lock up first — and an even trickier spread to cover at 14.5 points.
- LSU (3-0, 2-1 ATS, last week: 11)
If you ranked teams based on résumé alone, you’d have to put the Tigers at the top, or very close to it. They’ve defeated top 10 teams in two of three weeks, both times as underdogs away from home. The game in between was a 31-0 shutout of Southeastern Louisiana. LSU didn’t cover in that one, but as mentioned before, failing to cover big spreads against FCS opponents won’t hurt teams much in these rankings.
- Oklahoma (3-0, 1-2 ATS, last week: 3)
The Sooners couldn’t handle the spread as big road favorites at Iowa State, but most in Sooner Nation are probably just relieved to be past the upset-minded Cyclones after Iowa State won in Norman, Okla., last season. The Sooners should be favored in the rest of their regular-season games, with road trips to TCU and West Virginia the only spreads that will be close. But can they handle being a big favorite?
- Stanford (3-0, 2-1 ATS, last week: 7)
The Cardinal didn’t cover against UC Davis last week, but again, big spreads against FCS opponents are almost more of a measure of a coach’s mentality than anything else, assuming the favored team isn’t in danger of losing straight up. With All-American running back Bryce Love sitting out with a nagging injury, coach David Shaw clearly had his mind on this weekend’s showdown at Oregon. The line has already jumped the fence in that game, with the Ducks opening as 1-point favorites but Stanford now giving 2 points.
- Clemson (3-0, 0-3 ATS, last week: 6)
For the third straight week, the Tigers failed to cover a spread but won straight up. They get a pass for this one, a 38-7 win against Georgia Southern, because they were playing in advance of a hurricane in a state that was very distracted by the storm. But if you’re betting, you’d like to see this trend of Clemson doing just enough to win be reversed in a hurry. The Tigers figure to be a double-digit favorite in every game the rest of the regular season, with the possible exception of a trip to Boston College. That starts with 17-point road chalk at Georgia Tech this week.
- Mississippi State (3-0, 3-0 ATS, last week: 9)
The opposite of Clemson has been the Bulldogs, who have left no doubt in any of their wins. Granted, beating up on Stephen F. Austin and Louisiana-Lafayette isn’t going to turn many heads, but the road win at Kansas State carries a lot of weight and bettors aren’t going to complain about the opponent, only the result. Anyway, MSU will have plenty of chances to prove itself against tougher opponents, starting this week at Kentucky, which is a solid team at home giving 10 points to Mississippi State.
- Auburn (2-1, 1-2 ATS, last week: 5)
For the second straight week, the Tigers failed to cover, and had they not had some big plays at opportune moments in the opener against Washington, this team could be 1-2 straight up and 0-3 against the spread. As it is, Auburn has a chance to get healthy in a hurry against a struggling Arkansas team. Covering the hefty spread of 29 points might be more difficult, though.
- Washington (2-1, 1-2 ATS, last week: 8)
The Huskies were at the other end of that Auburn loss, and they didn’t cover against FCS member North Dakota the following week. They did get a really good road win at Utah, though, covering as 6-point chalk in the process. Washington will need get used to being the favorite and are giving a big 17.5-point spread against Arizona State this week. A road trip to Oregon and visit from Stanford are the biggest challenges left on the schedule.
- Penn State (3-0, 2-1 ATS, last week: 13)
The opening-week scare against Appalachian State seems like a long time ago, as the Nittany Lions have pounded Pitt and Kent State in back-to-back weeks, leaving no doubt against the spread in either matchup. Things get serious for this team in a hurry in Big Ten play after the opener at Illinois (that’s a tricky Friday night road spot for a cover, and Penn State is a 26-point favorite), with games against Ohio State and Michigan State to follow.
- Oklahoma State (3-0, 2-1 ATS, last week: 19)
Tied with LSU for our biggest riser of the week, the Cowboys get bumped because they took care of a spread by double digits against Boise State, who had been the best team to bet on in the first two weeks of the season. Oklahoma State is for real and could stay undefeated all the way into the Bedlam matchup at Oklahoma on Nov. 10. In the meantime, the Cowboys should be a double-digit favorite for each of the next four weeks, starting with a visit from Texas Tech, which is getting 13 points.
- West Virginia (2-0, 2-0 ATS, last week: 17)
If Oklahoma State isn’t the biggest threat to Oklahoma in the Big 12, it’s probably West Virginia, which was unbeaten against the number in its first two games before last week’s tilt at NC State was canceled due to Hurricane Florence. The Mountaineers’ Big 12 schedule is extremely backloaded, with games against Texas, TCU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma all in November. The positive part of that is that Will Grier and company should have plenty of blowout opportunities to pad the resume before Halloween. WVU is 16-point chalk against Kansas State on Saturday.
- Virginia Tech (2-0, 2-0 ATS, last week: 18)
Another team that saw its Saturday matchup washed away, Virginia Tech gets one more warmup this week (-27 vs. Old Dominion) before two of its biggest games of the season, at Duke and home vs. Notre Dame. The spreads will be tight in both of those contests, and the Hokies can make more of a mark particularly against the Irish, who have been unimpressive since opening the season by beating Michigan.
- Notre Dame (3-0, 1-2 ATS, last week: 12)
Speaking of which, Notre Dame needed another late defensive stand at home to survive Vanderbilt, which easily covered the 14.5-point spread in a 22-17 loss to the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame stayed in the College Football Playoff hunt, but has been underwhelming from a gambling standpoint. Bettors need to tread carefully as the Irish try to get back on track this week as an 8-point favorite at Wake Forest.
- Michigan (2-1, 1-2 ATS, last week: 15)
While Notre Dame has struggled after its big win against Michigan, the Wolverines have gone the opposite direction, taking no prisoners against two overmatched opponents, Western Michigan and SMU. The going gets tougher this week, although Michigan’s visitor, Nebraska, is going through its own struggles. Still, it’s eye-opening to see a spread this large (18.5 points) in a game between two of college football’s traditional powers.
- Central Florida (2-0, 1-1 ATS, last week: 20)
The Knights move up a bit by default because there were so many losses and poor performances around them while UCF missed its game against North Carolina because of the hurricane. UCF is an impressive offensive machine and will have plenty of chances to show it off against a slate of mostly overmatched opponents. That starts Friday night with a visit from Florida Atlantic, which is getting 13.5 points.
- Boise State (2-1, 2-1 ATS, last week: 14)
Don’t give up on the Broncos yet. Boise State failed in its biggest test of the season, a trip to Stillwater, Okla., but this team might still win some big money for gamblers. The Broncos have shown a penchant for blowing out less talented teams, and there are plenty of them on the schedule. Boise State is off this week before testing its lungs in 7,000-plus-foot altitude at Wyoming on Sept. 29.
- Texas A&M (2-1, 3-0 ATS, last week: NR)
Welcome to the rankings, Aggies. TExas A&M who showed no mercy in covering a big spread against Louisiana-Monroe last week and did the same in their opener against Northwestern State. In between, Texas A&M gave a heck of a scare to Clemson, a consensus top 5 opponent, and thus is unbeaten against the spread. But push will quickly come to shove this week, as the Aggies must play the spread-killers themselves, the Alabama Crimson Tide, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., as massive 27-point underdogs.
- Boston College (3-0, 3-0 ATS, last week: NR)
Lost among many of the big games and the hurricane cancellations last week was Boston College, who started the weekend with a late afternoon Thursday game and took care of business in a tough spot at Wake Forest. That makes the Eagles 3-0 straight up and ATS on the year, covering the spread by an average of 5.8 points. Another road trip as a 6.5-point favorite, this one to Purdue, awaits on Saturday.
Also considered: Miami, TCU, BYU, Iowa, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
