A couple of schools that like to run the football, No. 1 Crimson Tide (-28) are set to welcome their in-conference counterpart Missouri Tigers to Alabama. The matchup is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET and ESPN will televise the action.
Missouri Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview
Alabama is heavily favored in this one and is currently giving up 28 points to Missouri. There should be some good live betting scenarios for this game, and the over/under for this matchup hasn’t yet been released.
The Tigers are down 0.1 units this season and 2-2-1 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 4-0. The Crimson Tide have gained 0.0 units for moneyline bettors so far. They’re 3-3 ATS and have an O/U record of 5-1.
The Tigers are 3-2 straight up (SU), including 0-2 SU against SEC opponents. The Crimson Tide are 6-0 SU overall and 3-0 SU in conference play.
The Tigers look to bounce back after a narrow 37-35 defeat to South Carolina last week. Drew Lock completed only 17-of-36 passes for 204 yards and two interceptions. Damarea Crockett (154 rushing yards on 20 attempts, one TD) and Larry Rountree III (90 yards on 13 carries, two TDs) led the ground attack in the loss while Albert Okwuegbunam (four receptions, 13 yards) and Johnathon Johnson (three catches, 40 yards) handled the receiving duties.
Alabama just got a lopsided 65-31 win over Arkansas. The Tide defense allowed the Razorbacks to rush for 172 yards on 31 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Rakeem Boyd was a bright spot in the loss for Arkansas, posting 102 rushing yards on 15 attempts. As a group, the Tide collectively completed 14-of-18 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns. Tua Tagovailoa went 10-for-13 for 334 yards and four touchdowns while Jalen Hurts was four-of-five for 59 yards. Damien Harris (111 rushing yards on 15 attempts, two TDs) and Najee Harris (63 yards on seven carries) mounted the ground game in the win while Jerry Jeudy (four receptions, 135 yards, two TDs) and Jaylen Waddle (four catches, 49 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
Missouri’s run the ball on 51.5 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Alabama has a rush percentage of 62.0 percent. The Tigers have produced 212 rush yards/game (including 229 per game against Southeastern opponents) and have 11 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Tide are averaging 222 rushing yards per game (188 in conference) and have 16 total rush TDs.
The Tigers offense has averaged 318 yards in the air overall (213 per game versus conference opposition) and has 11 passing scores so far. The Tide have recorded an astonishing 345 pass yards per outing (371.3 against SEC foes) and have 24 total pass TDs.
On the defensive side of the ball, Missouri has allowed 107 rush yards and 285 pass yards per game. The Alabama defense has given up 197.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 134.3 yards per game to opposing runners. The Tide are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.52 to opponents, while the Tigers have given up an 8.46 ANY/A.
Offensively, Lock is up to 1,266 passing yards on the year, and has completed 64 percent of his 149 attempts with 11 passing scores and only three interceptions. Lock’s got an 8.82 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 3.14 over the past two outings.
The Tigers have tried to control the pace by pounding the defense with their running backs. Damarea Crockett (286 rush yards, two rush TDs), Tyler Badie (184 rush yards, 45 receiving yards), and Larry Rountree III (350 rush yards, three rush TDs) have been focal points in the offensive game scripts for Missouri.
On the other sideline, Tua Tagovailoa has connected on 68-of-93 passes for 1,367 yards, 16 TDs and zero INTs. Tagovailoa’s ANY/A sits at 17.62 for the year and 27.71 across his past two outings.
The Tide will also try to control the game’s pace by turning to their backfield. In addition to Jerry Jeudy (500 receiving yards, eight receiving TDs), Jaylen Waddle (zero rush yards, 175 receiving yards) and Damien Harris (341 rush yards, three rush TDs) have gotten a multitude of looks lately.
These two SEC foes did not get a chance to play one another in 2017.
RELATED: Week 7 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
The Alabama defensive unit has produced more than three times as many sacks as Missouri this season (19 versus six).
Both teams have lost three fumbles this year.
The Tigers offense has recorded six pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Crimson Tide have accounted for 12 such plays.
The Missouri defense has allowed nine pass plays of 40+ yards, while Alabama has given up two such plays.
The Missouri offense has created six rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Alabama has created eight such runs.
The Tigers defense has allowed three rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Crimson Tide have given up nine such runs.
As a team, Missouri has produced 5.35658914728682 yards per carry over its last three outings and 5.5 over its last two.
Alabama has averaged 5.4 yards per carry over its last three games and 5.9 over its past two.
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