The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide is a 39-point home favorite over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, according to the legal betting sites, for the Week 4 NCAA football game on September 21 at 11:00 am CT at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL.
Alabama vs. Southern Miss BetAnySports Sportsbook Odds
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Miss | +38½ (-110) | 61½ (-110) | +18000 |  |
| Alabama | -38½ (-110) | 61½ (-110) | -54000 | |
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Betting Southern Miss Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 47-42 upset of Troy as three-point road dogs, per the best online sportsbooks. Starting QB Jack Abraham went 28 of 36 for 463 yards with two TDs. Backup Nail McLaurin added a 51-yard TD pass. Wide receiver Quez Watkins had 209 yards and two TDs on seven catches. Southern Miss is 12th in the country with 347.0 passing yards per game. USM’s defense allowed 504 passing yards but held Troy to just 24 rushing yards. Southern Miss allows 276.3 passing yards per game, which ranks them 106th. However, the Eagles rank 387th in rushing defense with 104.7 yards allowed per game.
According to the legal betting sites, Southern Miss is 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall. 15-7-1 ATS in their last 23 non-conference games. The over is 4-0 in their last four on the road. USM is 3-7-1 ATS in the last 11 games with Alabama.
“I remember one instance when we’re blocking and I hear Jack behind me and he was like, ‘Man, we are rolling,’” sophomore center Trace Clopton said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, you just keep throwing it.’” You better keep on rolling, lest you get rolled by the Roll Tide.
Betting Alabama Crimson Tide
The Tide recorded their second straight ATS loss last weekend. Alabama beat South Carolina 47-23 as 26.5-point road chalk, per the legal betting sites. The Samoan Bulldozer Tua Tagovailoa threw 28 of 36 for 444 yards. The Hawaiian Behemoth connected a TD pass five times. Or, as Booker T would say, five times, five times, five times, five times, five times! Wide receiver Devonta Smith scored twice on eight receptions with 136 yards. Only the run game disappointed, gaining just 76 yards on the ground. The Crimson Tide ranks 8th in total offense, with 382.3 passing yards, 199.0 rushing yards, and 50.3 points per game.
Alabama is 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. 1-5 ATS in their last six non-conference games. The under is 5-1 in Bama’s last six games versus C-USA schools.
The special teams continue to be the target of criticism; both field goal kicking and punting. “We’ve got to get better execution,” head coach Nick Saban said. “We’ve got to get those guys to execute and they’re capable of executing. They’ve done a really good job of doing it in practice. We just have not seen it in the game. How you drop the ball is very important to how you punt, and almost every punt we’ve had in a game so far the guy drops the ball inside, so you’re going to kick the ball low and not with good placement. So it’s something that we definitely need to improve on. That would be on the list of things that we need to improve.” Only five teams have a worse yard-per-punt average than the Tide (36.6 yards per punt).
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles Prediction
I was ready to dismiss those criticisms, since special teams weren’t costing Alabama games. However, the Tide has failed to cover two weeks in a row, and therein may lie the problem. If you believe the issue can be fixed by Saturday morning, then take Bama and the points. If not, fade the Crimson Tide.
