BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Maybe Vanderbilt isnāt David. And perhaps Alabamaisnāt Goliath.
Coaches, players and even gamblers seem to see it that way.
No. 1 Alabama (3-0) opened as an 18.5-point favorite over Vanderbilt (3-0), according to oddsmaker AmericasLine.com, for its game Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS).
Itās a big margin, but itās nowhere close to the predicted gap in past Alabama-Vanderbilt games. And itās barely even one of the biggest lines this weekend.
Among the 56 college football games on AmericasLine.com, nine had a bigger opening point spread than Alabama-Vanderbilt.
Among top-10 teams, No. 2 Clemson opened as a 32.5-point favorite over fellow ACC member Boston College. No. 3 Oklahoma is favored by 27.5 points over fellow Big 12 member Baylor. No. 9 Ohio State is a 39-point favorite over UNLV.
Despite facing the best team in the land, Vanderbilt isnāt even the biggest underdog in an SEC game this weekend. Missouri is a 19.5-point underdog at home to Auburn.
Alabama, then ranked No. 2, beat Vanderbilt 34-0 in their last meeting in 2011. The Crimson Tide won 24-10 in their last trip to Vanderbilt in 2007.
Derek Mason likes to say that his team respects everyone but fears no one. At Tuesdayās press conference, quarterback Kyle Shurmur put that in context of facing Alabama.
āThe respect part of it is that theyāve earned their No. 1 ranking in the country,ā said Shurmur, the SEC leader in passing efficiency. āSo we respect them. They are a very good football team. But weāre not going to back down.
āWe work hard, too. We are going to compete.ā
Vanderbiltās results, including last weekās 14-7 win over then-No. 18 Kansas State, have earned respect from Alabama coach Nick Saban. In his Monday press conference, he introduced the Commodores as āa very good Vanderbilt team, who as you well know just beat K-State, who was a ranked team. They are 3-0. ā¦ Their defense leads the nation (in fewest points and yards allowed).ā
Saban continued, āThis is a very good overall team, probably a team that deserves to be in the Top 25.ā
Beating ranked teams is a learned skill
Vanderbilt beat No. 18 Kansas State and face No. 1 Alabama next. Derek Mason was asked about it during the post-game press conference. Adam Sparks
After Saturdayās win, Mason highlighted the experience of his roster, which includes 39 upperclassmen. Seventeen of Vanderbiltās 22 projected starters for the Alabama game are either juniors or seniors, who have plenty of experience facing highly ranked foes.
āIn college football, there are great teams out there,ā Mason said. āBut when you start to get an older football team in this conference and you can only put 11 guys on the field, you can play with anybody. You just have to make sure those guys believe it.ā
Indeed, Vanderbilt has become more competitive with ranked teams as itās grown older.
Against Top 25 teams, the Commodores were outscored 184-54 in Masonās 2014 debut season and outscored 91-37 in 2015. That included a 51-0 loss to No. 3 Mississippi State in 2014 and a 34-0 loss to No. 21 Houston in 2015.
But last season, Vanderbilt was outscored only 70-67 in three games against Top 25 teams, including a 45-34 win over No. 24 Tennessee.
And last week, it beat then-No. 18 Kansas State 14-7 in a tune-up for No. 1 Alabama. Vanderbilt sits just outside the Top 25 in both polls.
From the Tennessean.
Coaches, players and even gamblers seem to see it that way.
No. 1 Alabama (3-0) opened as an 18.5-point favorite over Vanderbilt (3-0), according to oddsmaker AmericasLine.com, for its game Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS).
Itās a big margin, but itās nowhere close to the predicted gap in past Alabama-Vanderbilt games. And itās barely even one of the biggest lines this weekend.
Among the 56 college football games on AmericasLine.com, nine had a bigger opening point spread than Alabama-Vanderbilt.
Among top-10 teams, No. 2 Clemson opened as a 32.5-point favorite over fellow ACC member Boston College. No. 3 Oklahoma is favored by 27.5 points over fellow Big 12 member Baylor. No. 9 Ohio State is a 39-point favorite over UNLV.
Despite facing the best team in the land, Vanderbilt isnāt even the biggest underdog in an SEC game this weekend. Missouri is a 19.5-point underdog at home to Auburn.
Alabama, then ranked No. 2, beat Vanderbilt 34-0 in their last meeting in 2011. The Crimson Tide won 24-10 in their last trip to Vanderbilt in 2007.
Derek Mason likes to say that his team respects everyone but fears no one. At Tuesdayās press conference, quarterback Kyle Shurmur put that in context of facing Alabama.
āThe respect part of it is that theyāve earned their No. 1 ranking in the country,ā said Shurmur, the SEC leader in passing efficiency. āSo we respect them. They are a very good football team. But weāre not going to back down.
āWe work hard, too. We are going to compete.ā
Vanderbiltās results, including last weekās 14-7 win over then-No. 18 Kansas State, have earned respect from Alabama coach Nick Saban. In his Monday press conference, he introduced the Commodores as āa very good Vanderbilt team, who as you well know just beat K-State, who was a ranked team. They are 3-0. ā¦ Their defense leads the nation (in fewest points and yards allowed).ā
Saban continued, āThis is a very good overall team, probably a team that deserves to be in the Top 25.ā
Beating ranked teams is a learned skill
Vanderbilt beat No. 18 Kansas State and face No. 1 Alabama next. Derek Mason was asked about it during the post-game press conference. Adam Sparks
After Saturdayās win, Mason highlighted the experience of his roster, which includes 39 upperclassmen. Seventeen of Vanderbiltās 22 projected starters for the Alabama game are either juniors or seniors, who have plenty of experience facing highly ranked foes.
āIn college football, there are great teams out there,ā Mason said. āBut when you start to get an older football team in this conference and you can only put 11 guys on the field, you can play with anybody. You just have to make sure those guys believe it.ā
Indeed, Vanderbilt has become more competitive with ranked teams as itās grown older.
Against Top 25 teams, the Commodores were outscored 184-54 in Masonās 2014 debut season and outscored 91-37 in 2015. That included a 51-0 loss to No. 3 Mississippi State in 2014 and a 34-0 loss to No. 21 Houston in 2015.
But last season, Vanderbilt was outscored only 70-67 in three games against Top 25 teams, including a 45-34 win over No. 24 Tennessee.
And last week, it beat then-No. 18 Kansas State 14-7 in a tune-up for No. 1 Alabama. Vanderbilt sits just outside the Top 25 in both polls.
From the Tennessean.
