How good is Alabama this year? One Las Vegas book says the Crimson Tide are at touchdown better than the next best team in the country, Ohio State.
Golden Nugget has released a handful of potential national championship game odds, just for fun and entertainment purposes, of course, and they all have Alabama as a big winner this January. As shared by David Purdau on Twitter, Alabama would be a seven-point favorite over Ohio State on Golden Nugget’s board. Considering just how well Alabama has been playing this season, and how strong Ohio State looks, that is a strong line showing how much Vegas likes Nick Saban’s team this season.
The @GoldenNuggetLV sportsbook has posted lines on potential national championship game matchups: Alabama -7 vs. Ohio State.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) October 20, 2016
OK, so Alabama would be a touchdown favorite against Ohio State. What about if we get a rematch in the College Football Playoff national championship game between the Crimson Tide and Clemson? It was close last year, but Alabama would be a 7.5-point favorite over the Tigers if they met again this year, according to the odds released today.
Saban vs. Jim Harbaugh is all kinds of fun to think about too, but the Wolverines would apparently fare no better than their Big Ten rivals from Columbus. Golden Nugget would have Alabama as an 8.5-point favorite over the Tide.
Washington has become the team to beat on the west coast out of the Pac-12, but they would be no match for Alabama. Golden Nugget has the Huskies as a 12-point dog against the Tide.
More @GoldenNuggetLV lines on potential national title games:
Mich vs. Bama -8.5
Clemson vs. Bama -7.5
Wash vs. Bama -12
h/t @aaronkessler— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) October 20, 2016
We have to imagine any other betting line against Alabama would go in favor of Alabama, given these schools are among the highest-ranked teams in the country. It would be fun to see how a team like Louisville might fare. For what it is worth, Alabama is favored by 18 points against undefeated Texas A&M this weekend.
Alabama tends to get at least a point in betting simply for being Alabama, but this team has looked pretty darn good and there are not a lot of teams out there that look capable of keeping up with them. I’d like Ohio State’s chances to cover, but the rest seem fairly spot on from what we can see right now.
But that’s why you play the game on a football field, not on a Las Vegas betting board.
