The Mercer Bears (1-0) and Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) meet Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Mercer at Alabama odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
The Bears roughed up Point University, an NAIA institution, by a 69-0 score last weekend. Mercer had three different quarterbacks throw a touchdown and RB Tommy Pollack ran for 111 yards and 2. The Bears rushed for 539 yards and 7 scores as a team, while averaging 9.1 yards per carry.
The Crimson Tide, No. 1 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, powered by USA TODAY Sports, punished the Miami Hurricanes 44-13 in a neutral-site battle in Atlanta which was rather one-sided from the jump. Alabama outgained Miami 147-88 on the ground, and 354-179 through the air.
Also see: Heisman Trophy odds
Mercer at Alabama odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 7:45 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Off the board (OTB)
- Against the spread (ATS): OTB
- Over/Under (O/U): 59.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Mercer at Alabama odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Alabama 66, Mercer 7
Money line
There was no money line at the time of publishing but it wouldn’t be worth pursuing anyway.
Against the spread
There was also no money line available at the time of publishing but expect it to be rather large. The Crimson Tide spanked a ranked Miami team to cover a 19.5-point number, and they’ll easily push past an FCS school as they put up gaudy numbers in their home opener.
The last time these teams was Nov. 18, 2017, and ‘Bama won 56-0. Prior to that, the other meetings were a pair of 20-0 Alabama shutout wins in 1939 and 1940.
Mercer might actually be able to score Saturday, which would be a win in and of itself. They’re getting paid $600,000 for the honor of heading to T-Town, which will help its athletics department quite a bit.
Back Alabama on any number up to 53.5.
Over/Under
OVER 59.5 (-108) is the slam-dunk play on the board here, especially if the Bears can make Mercer history and actually score against Alabama but Over bettors might not need it.
The Tide are plenty capable of hitting the Over on their own.
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