[Jeff Grant]

Finishing out a three-game road trip


Texas A&M has won and covered its first two games of a three-game road swing, as it comes off an impressive 38-13 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs as 6.5-point favorites. The Aggies have out-gained their last two opponents by a combined 719-yard margin, which is truly mind blowing in SEC play. Sports bettors will find that the program has compiled an 0-2 against-the-spread record as an underdog this year.


Chink in the armor


Alabama has looked invincible at times during the 2012 college football season, but the defending national champions escaped with a 21-17 win over the LSU Tigers as seven-point road favorites on Saturday. The Crimson Tide lost the statistical battle for the first time this year, but improved to 21-6 against ranked opponents over the last four seasons. Picking up an ATS victory in this spot is certainly possible, as the team has covered the number in all four of its games as favorites of 10.5 to 21 points this year, with each of those contests going OVER the total.


Manziel for president


Redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel gained 440 total yards against the Bulldogs, as the Aggies gained 400-plus years of total offense for the eighth straight game. He has been able to find wide receiver Ryan Swope in the passing game the last three weeks, as he’s caught 25 passes for 342 yards in that span. First-year head coach Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will have to come up with a perfect game plan if they plan on knocking off the No. 1 team in the country at Bryant-Denny Stadium.


McCarron shouldn’t be overlooked


AJ McCarron isn’t a dual-threat quarterback like Manziel, but the Crimson Tide signal-caller will enter this week’s contest with an active streak of 289 passing attempts without an interception. He completed just 14-of-27 passes for 165 yards in last week’s victory in Baton Rouge, but he was tremendous on Alabama’s game-winning drive, as he completed four of five passes.


First half will be important


Live sports bettors will want to keep a close eye on the scoreboard as this game goes into halftime, as the Aggies have scored on 10 of 12 drives in the first 30 minutes in their last two games, while the Crimson Tide are arguably the best first-half team in the country. Alabama is 58-3 when leading at the break under head coach NIck Saban, with the program outscoring opponents by a dominating 222-34 margin after the first two quarters through nine games.


Prediction


It’s going to be very hard to back the Aggies in this particular spot, considering they will be playing their third consecutive game away from College Stadium, but it’s important to note that the Crimson Tide are 1-5 ATS in their last six games in November. Texas A&M has won the statistical battle in all nine of its games this season, including its two losses against Florida and LSU at home.


Too close to call at this point.

[csknight3]

Bought the half point for A&M +14 big. Call me a sucker but I really think that this is a good bet. A&M has played just as good if not better on the road this year (although the home games have been against much stronger opponents) and are getting better every week. I like + 14 especially because of the chance of a backdoor cover in the last few minutes.

Ill take my chances with Johnny Football. This is his last chance to prove that he really can still function against an elite D. Also No matter how much Saban stresses to his players that A&M is a good team and that they can't have a letdown game after the emotional LSU win, do you really think these Alabama players are worried about a school that is brand new that they think is overrated like Miss St? No way they take this game as serious as the LSU one. On the other hand A&M is loving the spot they are in now and want to really prove to the SEC they belong.

Thanks for the write up Jeff. The big factor in this game which most people wont even talk about will be A&M's defense. Obviously Bamas D will hold A&M to under 31 pts but can the Aggies hold Alabamas offense? Also A&M needs to score A LOT in the first half. Second half adjustments by Saban will be spot on. So A&M needs to come out scoring right off the start or they have no chance.

[accuscoresucks]

127122155-4

7/3/12 12:03pm

$

$

Pending

11/10/12 12:00pm College Football 311 Texas A&M +21 -130* vs Alabama

picked this wager weeks ago