Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Predictions, Picks, Odds, and NCAA Football Week Two Betting Preview – September 10, 2016

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview

Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa

When: Saturday, September 10, 3:30 PM ET

Line: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (+28.5) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (-28.5) – view all NCAA Football odds and lines

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Betting on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (+28.5)

It’s time for Western Kentucky to play a real football team. No disrespect to Rice, which the Hilltoppers beat to open their season last Thursday, 46-14, but the Owls definitely looked undeserving of being on the same field as Western Kentucky. Now WKU will face national title favorite Alabama in Tuscaloosa nonetheless.

The Hilltoppers are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three road games, however, and there’s a reason to hope that they could at least cover that huge 28.5-point spread as underdogs this Saturday. The team’s offense appears to be fine against Rice even with WKU breaking in a new quarterback in Mike White.

White led the Hilltoppers in tearing apart the Owls’ defense, as he passed for 517 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. While that was against, again, a lackluster Rice team, WKU’s offense still appears to have the same pop as last season in which it ranked third in the nation in scoring offense with 44.3.

The offense is going to be the key for WKU if it wants to hang tough with Alabama. The Hilltoppers’ defense is still a question mark despite getting a shot in the arm in the offseason with new recruits and transferees, including former Louisville defensive end Nick Dawson-Brents.

Betting on the Alabama Crimson Tide (-28.5)

Freshman quarterback? No problem for the Crimson Tide, as the title favorites played just like that with first-year QB Jalen Hurts under center last Saturday, crushing then ranked No. 20 USC, 52-6.

Hopefully for Alabama, that big win won’t cause the Tide to lower their guards and come in over-confident against a game Western Kentucky squad. After all, they obviously have the tools to send the Hilltoppers down on their backsides.

Among which is Hurts, whose poise and skill was on full display in the USC game, wherein he passed 118 yards and two touchdowns, albeit with one interception. Hurts, however, isn’t the sure starter heading into Week 2 with Nick Saban likely still pondering on using redshirt freshman Blake Barnett.

In any case, what’s not going to change almost to a certain degree is ‘Bama’s defense that simply took all the air out of the Trojans’ fight. The Tide limited USC to only 194 total yards.

Alabama ranked third last season nationally in both total defense and scoring defense and if its current stop unit proved to be stouter, then WKU’s offense is about to get crippled this coming Saturday.

The Crimson Tide are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.

Writer’s Prediction

Alabama (-28.5) wins, 41-17.

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