A rivalry that goes back to the 1950’s will be part of the 2012 college football betting schedule as Miami of Florida plays Notre Dame. The Crimson Tide of Alabama is the 4-1 favorites in NCAA betting to defend their national title in 2010. Alabama returns 10 starters including eight on the offensive side of the ball. The Crimson Tide will get a lot of action this season in college football betting.
NCAA betting odds should favor Alabama in every game they play this season. The Tide is loaded on offense as they return Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, quarterback Greg McElroy and running back Trent Richardson. Ingram and Richardson combined for 416 carries, 2,409 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. The Tide returns Julio Jones at wide receiver and he is a big play threat. Alabama also has Marquis Maze and Brandon Gibson. The offensive line is loaded with talent led by Barrett Jones James Carpernter at left tackle.
The defense returns only two starters so that side of the ball could be a concern. Head coach Nick Saban is a defensive coach though so Alabama is still going to be very good. The team has defensive end Marcel Dareus up front to lead the way. They also have Josh Chapman and Kerry Murphy. The team gets Dont’a Hightower back from injury this season to take Rolando McClain’s spot at middle linebacker. The biggest concern for the Tide is in the secondary where three of four starters are gone. Strong safety Mark Barron does return though. Alabama will look to players like Dre Kirkpatrick and B.J. Scott to step up.
Alabama’s schedule is not easy but that is normally the case as the SEC is the best conference in the country. The Tide gets an out of conference test from Penn State early in the season. The toughest road tests look to be at Arkansas and at LSU. The Tide also has tough home games against Florida and Auburn. The Crimson Tide has not lost a regular season game in a long while so they will have a big target on their back. Alabama opens up the season on September 4th as they host San Jose State. They then host Penn State on September 11th before going on the road for games at Duke and Arkansas. They host Florida in early October and then go to South Carolina. The come home for Mississippi before a two-game trip to Tennessee and LSU. They finish up with three games at home vs. Mississippi State, Georgia State and Auburn.