Saturday night brings the spotlight to Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida and the Camping World Kickoff between the Louisville Cardinals and the Alabama Crimson Tide in front of 70,000 fans. Alabama opens its defense of the NCAA championship and its drive to repeat as a 24.5-point favorite, down from the Sportsbook spread of 28.5. These teams last played in 1991 when the Cardinals won 34-7 in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.
- Louisville is 8-0 ATS in its last eight games as a double-digit underdog.
- Alabama is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games in Week 1.
- The average combined score for Louisville’s 13 games in 2017 was 65.47.
Cardinals vs Crimson Tide Matchup Page
QB Controversy or Two-Headed Monster for ’Bama?
Seeing as it’s not an if, but a by how many situation for most pundits in this game, what will the quarterback situation look like for Alabama? Both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts eye the starter’s role in Tuscaloosa and both are worthy of being a starting QB.
Hurts (25-2) has been the guy for a couple of years, but was lifted in favor of Tagovailoa against Georgia in the second half of the national championship game – and we all know what happened then. The veteran has been critical of the way the coaching staff has handled him in the offseason, saying that the hush from coaches surrounding the QB battle was offputting to him.
Nick Saban has not announced a starting quarterback for Week 1 and appears to have every intention of using both in the first few weeks of the schedule until they run up against some stiffer competition.
Louisville Saying All the Right Things
Even with Lamar Jackson moved on to the NFL, the Louisville Cardinals are excited about their offense entering the 2018 season. The Cardinals, under head coach Bobby Petrino, debut a strong offense with six-foot-four Jawon Pass behind center.
Sophomore Dez Fitzpatrick spoke to the media last week and basically said that this is his biggest game of the year and maybe his career. Fitzpatrick, who had 45 receptions for 699 yards and nine touchdowns last year, feels like his Cardinals group can stun ’Bama in Week 1 with a high-flying offense against an inexperienced Tide secondary.
Louisville has returned senior WR Jaylen Smith, who was Lamar Jackson’s No. 1 last year. Smith caught 60 passes for 980 yards and seven TDs. The third-most prolific receiver from 2017 is back as well in the form of Seth Dawkins. Dawkins, a junior, made 42 receptions last year for four touchdowns.
This Creates an Intriguing Totals Situation
With two competent offenses on the field, a bettor is going to be naturally drawn to the point totals bet. The total for this game opened at 53.5 but has since moved to 60.5 at most online sportsbooks. As of Tuesday at books monitored by OddsShark.com, Sportsbook had the best OVER bet available at 60.0 (-115) while paying UNDER 60 at -105.
The OddsShark Super Computer is predicting an Alabama betting sweep, that they will win, cover the spread, and the total will go OVER. Learn more about the Super Computer’s powers over at the matchup page.
Last season, the Crimson Tide saw the total go over 60 points in just two of their 14 games: a 41-23 win vs Colorado State and a 66-3 win vs Mississippi. In 2017, the total was over 60 in nine of Louisville’s 13 games, and another two games ended at 59, a strong indicator why only two of their games closed with totals lines set UNDER 60. The average combined score in the Cardinals games last season was 65.46.
