Against Missouri, Alabama football favored for the 140th time in 141 games.
The Alabama football team is a heavy favorite in the 2020 season. How heavy, try 180.5 points more than the Crimson Tide’s 10 SEC opponents.
The winning margin projection comes from Stat Cat based on the ESPN SP+ and other information from Bovado. The schedule is so different for 2020, comparing the cumulative winning margin to past seasons is not pertinent.
Being the favorite in 140 of 141 games and 68 in a row, may or may not be some kind of record. Record or not, it is impressive given Alabama football competes in the toughest conference in college football.
Based on the sources above, the Crimson Tide will be favorites by double-digit points in all but two games. On the road against LSU, the Crimson Tide is a 4.5 point favorite. That particular projection stands out given Alabama football will be taking on the defending National Champion on the Bengal Tigers home turf.
The only other game in which the Crimson Tide is less than a 10-point favorite is against Georgia. Alabama football is favored by eight over the Bulldogs.
None of the other projected point spreads are particularly surprising. Three more Crimson Tide opponents are projected to lose by just under two touchdowns. The Texas A&M spread is 13.5 points, as is the spread against the Auburn Tigers. Somewhat surprising is, by half-a-point at 13, the Tennessee Vols are projected to give the Crimson Tide a closer game than the Aggies and the Aubies.
The five remaining 2020 Crimson Tide opponents fit what can be called the ‘not-a-chance’ category. The Ole Miss Rebel/Black Bear/Landsharks have the least ‘no chance’ with a projected spread of 19.5 points. Next are the Kentucky Wildcats at a projected spread of 22 points, followed by the Missouri Tigers with a projected 24-point spread.
In a ‘run for cover’ category are the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Hogs are projected to lose by 31 points and Mike Leach’s Dogs by 31.5 points.
Using the same source for projections, the Georgia Bulldogs are predicted to win their 10-game season by 147 points. The Bulldogs have one of the easier SEC schedules, including Arkansas, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
There is another amazing data point for the Crimson Tide. According to Chris Walsh of Bama Central,
"Since the 2008 season, 141 of the Crimson Tide’s 144 regular season games have had national championship implications."
For fun, here is one more category for one SEC team. It is called the ‘woe-is-me’ category. Based on the recent AP Top 25, Arkansas will play all seven ranked SEC teams.
Media members with direct access to Nick Saban know to never mention a projected spread to ‘Tin Horn’ Nick. Saban will never forget what the Georgia Southern rushing attack did to his Crimson Tide defense in 2011. He will not let anyone else forget either.