Alabama vs. Florida Betting Line: Largest SEC Championship Spread Since 1995


Opening Alabama vs. Florida betting line for Saturday’s SEC Championship Game is the largest point spread in the conference title game since 1995.


The Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators will once again meet in Atlanta to play for the SEC Championship. It’s the second straight meeting between the Tide and Gators in the conference title game, and ninth since the game’s inception in 1992, which is the most any two teams have met for the conference title. The SEC Championship series between the two is currently split 4-4.

Just like last year, Alabama will enter as a huge, three-score favorite over Florida to win. The opening betting line has been set at -21, and the current consensus line per Vegas Insiders is -22. It’s a larger opening point spread than last year’s SEC Championship Game, which was set at -17.5 in favor of Alabama. The Tide easily handled the Gators, 29-15, en route to the College Football Playoff and eventual national title last year. To find an SEC Championship Game line as large as this year, one has to look back more than two decades to 1995. Florida was -24 against Arkansas, and went on to win the game by 31 points, 34-3.

Very few, if any, are giving Florida even a chance to be competitive in Saturday’s matchup. The Gators are limping into the contest with a slew of injuries across the board, and little-to-no offense.

Meanwhile Alabama enters with the nation’s No. 1 defense, which doesn’t bode well for a Florida offense that’s proven to be predictable. For the sake of disparity, Florida could not convert on a single third down against FSU (0-for-12), while Alabama’s defense did not allow a touchdown in the month of November.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Crimson Tide have a balanced attack, averaging 245.92 rushing and 233.7 passing yards per game.

Dating back to 2011, Alabama has won three of the past four SEC championships. In total, Nick Saban has won four and played in five SEC title games.

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