Alabama Football: Danny Sheridan dishes on Auburn, Tennessee and others
By Ronald Evans
Most Alabama football fans enjoy the prognostications of Danny Sheridan. One of the game’s most respected oddsmakers, his predictions are also entertaining.
Alabama football fans know Danny Sheridan well. First, because he has long been viewed as one of the top oddsmakers in football. The other reason is that Danny knows the bagman.
Yes, that bagman, as in Auburn football’s distributor of cash to Cecil Newton to close the Cam to Auburn deal. Not only did Danny claim to have talked to the bagman about revealing himself, Danny passed a lie detector test to prove it.
This week Sheridan stirred up Auburn fans again, as well as fans of Tennessee, Texas A&M and Arkansas. Appearing with Paul Finebaum, Sheridan gave his opinion that Malzahn, Butch Jones, Kevin Sumlin and Bret Bielema must deliver this season or be fired.
Sheridan’s opinion is that Auburn is likely to win eight or nine games in 2017. Danny firmly believes that nine wins, including beating Georgia, will not protect Gus if he loses a fourth straight game to Alabama.
Sheridan said that Butch Jones is a good coach and a good recruiter, but he predicted Kentucky will beat the Vols in 2017. After losses to South Carolina and Vandy last season, Sheridan believes the Vols will win seven or eight games in 2017. He does not believe that will be enough to save Butch Jones’ job.
Sheridan also predicted 8 wins for Kevin Sumlin will cause TAMU to fire him.
Sheridan was also pessimistic about the future of Brett Bielema. He also described Bielema as a good coach, but one stuck in mediocrity at Arkansas.
Alabama football fans will be pleased with Sheridan’s odds for the Tide’s SEC games.
Sheridan also predicts that Alabama football and Ohio State have the best chances to win 11 or 12 games in the regular season. Sheridan projects FSU as the best team Alabama football will face in the regular season.
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For clarification, Sheridan’s acclaim is far more as an oddsmaker than as a picker of game results. The purpose of odds is to equalize betting rather than predict the outcome of games. Over a period of several seasons, the best game-pickers, against the spread, are correct around 60 percent of the time.
Predicting outcomes of games with a predicted spread of less than a touchdown is problematic, not art and certainly not a science.