Alabama Football a heavy road favorite over Wisconsin per ESPN models

Alabama Football is a heavy road favorite this weekend as they head to Madison for the first time in 96-years to face the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.

Despite a recent history of road woes for the Crimson Tide, two ESPN models remain bullish on Alabama against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Per ESPN's FPI, Alabama has a 92.3% chance of walking out of Camp Randall victorious. The Badgers have historically struggled at home against Top-10 ranked non-conference opponents, posting a 1-9 all-time record with their lone win coming back in 1974. The Badgers haven't faced a Top-10 opponent outside of the Big Ten at home since 2001 when Miami blased them by 48-points. All time, Wisconsinis 3-19-1 against ranked non-conference opponents at home.

Bill Connelly's SP+ system projects a 33-15 win for Alabama. For a deep dive explanion of Connelly's SP+ system, something I have found very useful over the years, you can read his explanation in his own words.

Alabama ranks 3rd in both ESPN's FPI power ratings and Connelly's SP+. They sit behind Texas and Georgia in FPI and Georgia and Ohio State in SP+.

As of Tuesday morning, Alabama is currently listed as a 15.5 point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. I've seen the line as high as 16.5 at some places, and it seems that early betting has favored the Crimson Tide.

This will be Alabama's first real test of the season, and a good indicator of what to expect and what needs to be cleaned up by the time Georgia heads to Tuscaloosa on September 28th.