NCAA football betting sportsbook’s are getting primed for the start of the season and rightfully so, as the very first week of college football has some pretty intense matchups. This includes games like UCLA at Texas A&M, Oklahoma vs. Houston, and North Carolina vs. Georgia. But even amidst these colossal matchups none comes close to beating the implications behind Alabama vs. USC.
Alabama is coming in as the defending champions as well as a No. 1 overall ranking in the preseason polls and it is imperative that they prove themselves capable of wielding such status. This game may not have heavy implications regarding the playoffs – due to it being a non-conference matchup, but the pressure will be on Nick Saban’s squad to establish themselves as the most dominant school across all the NCAA football betting sportsbook’s. The date is always hallowed whenever these two schools face each other and this time around it may be a tad bit more special. Alabama is indubitably the best program of this decade while USC is arguably the best program of the former decade. Meaning this will be a fight to prove who the best football program of recent time is.
USC will be looking to reclaim former glory, and a win over the reigning champions is certainly the way to do it. While both teams are coming in with new quarterbacks, the Trojans are the only team to have announced their starter. Max Browne, USC’s recently named starter, will be strapping up for the Trojans and will be doing so with his teammate’s full confidence. While Nick Saban is used to facing former protégés this time around he’ll have the defector on his sideline. Lane Kiffin spent several years coaching at USC before being fired in 2013, ultimately becoming the Crimson Tide’s new offensive coordinator. Many of the player’s on USC’s squad were recruited by Kiffin, including Matt Browne.
This game will be played at a neutral site and what better venue to host week 1’s biggest game than Cowboy Stadium. There are many interesting headlines for this game but Kiffin’s chance to get revenge on the school that disrespected him in 2013 is by far the most notable. Hours after losing a game, Kiffin was fired in a small office at the LAX. Interestingly enough Kiffin told USC bus drivers to wait for him while he went into the meeting (Kiffin was not expecting to be fired) but USC administrators told the buses to leave without him, essentially leaving Kiffin stranded at the airport. While there’s no doubting that a collegiate football coach is capable of getting his own ride home, the fact that they left him there is a complete sign of disrespect. At the media session prior to the National Championship Kiffin called that experience the ‘low-point’ of his career, just to reassure fans that it’s still at the forefront of his mind.
Kiffin’s rage may have been accounted for by NCAA football betting sportsbook’s when they threw together the odds for this matchup. USC is coming in as the underdogs with +325 and Alabama is coming in as the heavy favorites with -400. The odds reflect the ultimate truth, that the Crimson Tide is a better team paper. But having better stats doesn’t always translate into a win on the gridiron, but considering USC’s recent problems at the coaching position, this time it just might.
While the battle between two new quarterbacks will be one of the most promising, there is another matchup that might be a little more interesting. Alabama’s cornerback, Marlon Humprhrey, will be facing USC’s receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. These two players entered the 2014 recruiting cycle together and earned similar rankings, Humprhrey was #12 overall while Smith earned the spot at #20. Many of the best betting websites are considering this the matchup that will determine the outcome of the game.
