No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 7 Florida Gators Betting Preview

The SEC Championship will be decided on Saturday as the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-0) will be taking on the No. 7 Florida Gators (8-2). The game will be played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.
The Florida Gators will be looking for their first SEC championship since 2008, but they have a challenging task ahead of them in the top-ranked Crimson Tide.
Since losing to No. 5 Teas A&M back on October 10, the Gators had won six in a row until last weekend when they dropped a heartbreaker to LSU, 37-34. In the loss, quarterback Kyle Trask threw for 474 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another two touchdowns, but he also threw two costly interceptions. He will need to be near perfect to take down Alabama on Saturday.
Speaking of Alabama, they come in perfect on the season after beating Arkansas 52-3 last weekend. The previous week, they beat the same LSU team that took down Florida 55-17. Needless to say, they are playing good ball on both sides of the field.
Alabama is the overwhelming favorite in this one. They come into the game -750 to win while the Gators’ moneyline is +490. The spread features Florida +17.5, while the over/under for total points is 73.5.
By The Numbers
Both of these teams have dynamic offenses. Alabama ranks 3rd in the nation in scoring as they are averaging 49.5 points per game. Florida comes in 11th overall averaging 41.2 points.
One of the things that make the Crimson Tide so scary is that they are similarly dominant on defense. They rank 11th in NCAA in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents just 16.8 points per game. Florida falls to 49th as they are allowing 26.3 points per game.
Alabama Looks To Stay Perfect
Even in the off chance that they lose this game, Alabama is probably still a shoo-in for the national championship tournament. Still, they would love to stay perfect as they look to run the table on the season.
Leading the way for Alabama this season is quarterback Mac Jones. On the season, Jones has thrown for 3,321 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.
His leading receiver has been DeVonta Smith, who has 83 receptions for 1,327 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jones’s other productive options include John Metchie III (40 receptions, 720 yards, six touchdowns) and Jaylen Waddle (25 receptions, 557 yards, four touchdowns).
As dominant as they are through the air, they are equally dominant on the ground. Running back, Najee Harris has 183 rushing attempts for 1,084 yards and a whopping 22 touchdowns this season.
Florida Needs Upset For Chance At National Championship
Had they beaten LSU last weekend, Florida might have still been in the national championship conversation even with a loss to Alabama. Now, they need to win to be in.
For the Gators, quarterback Kyle Trask has had a remarkable season. He has thrown for 3,717 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. He has also rushed for another two touchdowns.
Leading the way in receiving has been Kadarius Toney. He has 62 receptions for 831 yards and nine touchdowns.
One player that Florida is hoping can play is tight end, Kyle Pitts. After sitting out against LSU, the hope is that he will be a go versus Alabama. On the season, Pitts has 36 catches for 641 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Gators don’t have near the strong run game as Alabama. The leading rusher for Florida is Dameon Pierce, who has rushed for 441 yards and three touchdowns. Only one other player (Malik Davis) has more than 200 yards.
Taking Alabama To Win And Cover
Even if Florida were completely healthy, they would still have a tough time rolling with Alabama. With the Gators a little banged up, this one could get ugly.
Don’t get me wrong, 17.5 points is a big spread in a conference championship setting, but Alabama is that good, and I expect them to not only win but to cover the big spread as well.