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SEC Football Predictions Week 1: Picking Games Against the Spread

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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  • Date: Saturday September 5, 2014
  • Time: 8PM Eastern
  • Location: Arlington, TX
  • TV Channel: ABC
  • Spread: Alabama -11.5
  • Over/Under Total: 50

The Game of the Week in the SEC is Alabama vs. Wisconsin in a primetime nationally televised matchup at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The Badgers were the champions of the Big Ten’s Western Division last season and won 11 games. They were thoroughly outclassed 59-0 in the Big Ten Championship Game, but responded with a 34-31 overtime victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

Five starters return on offense for Wisconsin and six are back from a stingy defensive unit that allowed only 20.8 points and 294 total yards per game last season. But, the team did have a change at head coach when Gary Andersen left Madison for the Oregon State job.

Luckily, the Badgers were able to turn to a familiar face in Paul Chryst, who was the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin from 2005-11 and spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Pitt. He’ll have his hands full in Week 1, however.

Alabama won the SEC Championship last season and played in the College Football Playoff national semifinal. Many of the players that made it happen are now gone to the NFL, but the best coaching trio in the nation is back in head coach Nick Saban, OC Lane Kiffin and DC Kirby Smart. Coaching, plus the elite talent they’ve collected in Tuscaloosa, makes the Crimson Tide an annual championship contender. In other words, even with 13 new starters, expect the 2015 Tide to be every bit as good as the 2008-2014 Tide.

Wisconsin will try to control the time of possession battle early in the game to try and keep it close in the second half. Similarly, Alabama may lean heavily on running back Derrick Henry while breaking in a new quarterback (or three – whoever they may be). Therefore, it would be wise to expect a fairly low-scoring battle early. The Crimson Tide should win by a touchdown or more – but not by the full 11.5-point spread.

Next: Mississippi State at Southern Miss

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