It is a big bowl week for SEC football teams with seven games, including Alabama Football in the Sugar Bowl. Add in the bowl games of Jan.2 and the SEC has at least nine more games this season – and 10 if Georgia advances to the National Championship game.
So far bowl season has not gone well for the SEC. Oregon State thumped the Florida Gators, 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Wake Forrest beat Missouri in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Alabama Football vs. Kansas State Sugar Bowl Spread
FanDuel has the Crimson Tide as an early-week, 6.5-point favorite. The over/under is set at 55.5 points. The Moneyline is Alabama -260 and Kansas State +210.
Alabama Football vs. Kansas State Game Prediction
Alabama fans may have a tendency to undervalue the Kansas State Wildcats. After losing to Texas in early November, Kansas State has won four straight games. The week before the loss to the Longhorns, KSU blew away Oklahoma State, 48-0. The Big 12 champions split with TCU this season, but the Wildcats took the big one, knocking off the Horned Frogs, 31-28.
A big reason for KSU’s late-season success has been Will Howard settling in at quarterback. He has supplanted Adrian Martinez as QB1 for the Wildcats. In the Big 12 Championship game, he passed for two touchdowns and ran for another.
Kansas State has a strong rushing attack, but the Crimson Tide will have a size advantage in the trenches. What Kansas State does not do is beat itself. Penalties and being on the wrong side of a turnover margin are almost never a problem for KSU.
The Alabama players lost to the Transfer Portal should have no impact on the game’s outcome. Except for transferring players, neither team has any bowl game opt-outs.
Make no mistake, Kansas State is a good team. The game may be close for a couple of quarters, but my hunch is a focused Alabama Crimson Tide makes a statement with a two-plus touchdown win.
Alabama Crimson Tide 34 – Kansas State 17
Point Spreads for other SEC Bowl Games
- Liberty Bowl – Arkansas is a 2.5-point favorite over Kansas
- Texas Bowl – Ole Miss is a 3.5-point favorite over Texas Tech
- Gator Bowl – South Carolina is a 2.5-point underdog to Notre Dame
- Orange Bowl – Tennessee is a 5.5-point underdog to Clemson
- Music City Bowl – Kentucky is a 2.5-point underdog to Iowa
- Peach Bowl – Georgia is a 6.5-point favorite over Ohio State
- ReliaQuest Bowl – Mississippi State is a 1.5-point underdog to Illinois
- Citrus Bowl – LSU is a 14.5-point favorite over Purdue
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
Alabama has the most Sugar Bowl wins with nine, followed by LSU and Ole Miss with six wins each.