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The Crimson Tide are listed as a seven-point favorite over the Seminoles heading into Saturday’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, and many fans are placing their bets as the game gets closer.
There are certainly things to like about both teams. Both teams have a coach who has won a national title, are returning a talented QB, and are ranked in the top five of the first AP Top 25.
The game will likely be close, but so far the majority of betting money has been placed on the Tide.
ESPN’s David Payne Purdum tweeted the updated numbers Wednesday morning:
Florida St vs. Alabama (-7): 51 percent of the bets are the Seminoles, but 75 percent of the money is on the Crimson Tide @WilliamHillUS.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) August 30, 2017
Florida State has a slight edge in the total number of bets, but Alabama owns the vast majority of the money to this point. There is still time for the numbers to change, but it appears casual fans are taking the Seminoles while the professionals are betting on Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.
It should be noted that Alabama has performed very well against the spread during opening weekend games under Saban.
Former oddsmaker Todd Fuhrman shared the Crimson Tide’s record against the spread since 2008.
Is @AlabamaFTBL over valued in the betting markets? Not so much…
Since '08 #RollTide 73-51-1 ATS overall#RollTide 8-1 ATS in openers
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) August 29, 2017
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
