Alabama Begins National Title Defense Against USC
Over the last nine seasons, Nick Saban has led Alabama to four national championships. And if you place some stock in the pre-season polls, you would believe that he could have them on the verge of yet another crown. On Saturday, Alabama gets its season underway with a game against the USC Trojans which will take place at 8 PM ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Always keep in mind that if you are a VietBet customer, you can place wagers on this game even after the opening kickoff, when you take advantage of the state-of-the-art software available through the facilities of Live Betting Ultra.
Alabama vs USC – Vietbet NCAAF Betting Line:
In the college football odds that have been posted on this game by the people at VietBet, Alabama is a double-digit favorite at this neutral site:
Alabama Crimson Tide -11.5
USC Trojans +11.5
Over 52.5 points -110
Under 52.5 points -110
Alabama lost only to Ole Miss last season, then beat Auburn in the traditional “Iron Bowl” game, and also defeated Florida for the SEC conference title, before trouncing Michigan State 38-0 and then beating Clemson in a wild national championship contest by a 45-40 score. They have had to replace a lot of playmakers, including quarterback Jake Coker and Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. But one thing you always know about Saban and the Alabama program – they have a host of blue-chip athletes waiting in line.
One of those is Cooper Bateman, a junior quarterback who narrowly lost last season’s quarterback battle to Coker, and started the Ole Miss defeat. And running back Damien Harris, who saw limited action last season behind Henry and Kenyon Drake, might be ready to shine as a sophomore. He was considered the top high school recruit at the running back spot last season.
USC is optimistic because it has ten starters returning on the offensive side of the ball. Actually, the only guy they have to replace is Cody Kessler, who is now with the Cleveland Browns, but therein may lie a problem for this team, which will experience its first full season under coach Clay Helton.
USC returns a potent running back duo of Ronald Jones and Justin Davis, who combined for almost 1900 yards last season. And all of the receivers are back, including Juju Smith-Schuster, a junior who made second-team All-American last year. The new quarterback is Max Browne, who was, in many circles, the top freshman signal caller available when he came out of high school. But he has only thrown 42 passes in a USC uniform.
In terms of the back story on this game, there is a true revenge angle, and VietBet customers ought to know about it, in case they didn’t already. Lane Kiffin, their offensive coordinator, who previously held head-coaching jobs with the Oakland Raiders and the Tennessee Volunteers, always considered USC to be his dream job, because he had labored there as an assistant. And he eventually got it, leaving Knoxville for it. But his team went through some troubles during the 2013 season, and after a 62-41 loss to Arizona State, Kiffin was met at the airport by athletic director Pat Haden when the team’s flight arrived at LAX from Phoenix. He was rather unceremoniously fired on the spot. And as you can guess, he is rather bitter about it.
So don’t be surprised if his play-calling has the effect of running up the score on this game when it gets late. Of course, Alabama would have to be sufficiently out in front for that to happen. And they have to replenish a front seven that saw five players leave after the season. These guys allowed only 2.4 yards per carry, and the secondary, which brings back three of its four members, permitted only 50.5% completions. Because they are always in “reload” mode and have won three titles with first-year starters at QB, the Crimson Tide ought to be in pretty good shape for this one.
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By Charles Jay