Alabama vs Arkansas Opening Odds – Tide 15.5-Point Road Favorites in Week 5 SEC West Tilt
- No. 2 Alabama has opened as a 15.5-point favorite against No. 20 Arkansas on October 1st
- The Tide are trying to stay undefeated, while the Razorbacks attempt to bounce back after a loss last week
- Read below for the full Alabama vs Arkansas opening odds and line movement prediction
No. 2 Alabama is listed as a 15.5-point favorite on the road against Arkansas as the two rivals prepare for a colossal SEC West tilt. As hard as this will be for Arkansas fans to here, this is a game that may be a tough one to stomach.
Let’s take a look at the opening Alabama vs Arkansas odds and analyze which direction the line is likely to move.
Opening Alabama vs Arkansas Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Crimson Tide | -15.5 (-110) | TBD | TBD |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | +15.5 (-110) | TBD | TBD |
Odds as of September 25th at DraftKings Sportsbook. Use this DraftKings promo code to bet on the game.
As 15.5-point favorites, Alabama will actually be facing its smallest spread of the year. Arkansas is staring down its biggest spread of the year, by far. The Razorbacks were favored in their first three game of the year and were 1.5-point road underdogs at Texas A&M in Week 4.
Alabama struggled mightily against Texas in Week 2 and escaped with a 20-19 victory. After that, easy wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Vanderbilt have them primed for Arkansas. Arkansas just lost a heartbreaker at Texas A&M on Saturday.
Alabama Is a Solid Road Favorite
Alabama and Nick Saban are always aiming for the National Championship but a conference title would be nice. Oddsmakers see the Crimson Tide at nearly even in the SEC Conference odds, where they sit at +110. That is currently second in the conference behind Georgia who sits at -130. Alabama (+200) is also a close second to UGA (+188) in the national championship odds.
The last two games for Alabama amounted to home practices to get ready for this SEC West clash. Louisiana-Monroe and Vanderbilt made things easy unlike Texas. The Crimson Tide learned some lessons from that early afternoon game in Texas. This is also the first of three games Alabama has against top-25 teams.
Alabama gets closer to Georgia in latest coaches poll https://t.co/V4DCLv06hU
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) September 25, 2022
The Crimson Tide defense was only tested a bit against Texas after they went down in the first half. Alabama over the past two games has had it rather easy and yielded a mere 129 yards compared to amassing 628 themselves on offense. Over the previous two contests, Alabama has outscored its opponents 118-10.
Also, Alabama is 3-1 ATS this season. Do they have the ability to make it 4-1 on the road in a hostile environment such as Arkansas? That is a great question. However, the game is interesting more because of what happened to the Razorbacks last week against the Aggies. This is Arkansas’s season basically.
Does Arkansas Bounce Back This Week?
Head coach Sam Pittman has to feel absolutely sick about what happened on Saturday against Texas A&M. Honestly K.J. Jefferson probably feels even worse along with the Razorbacks’ offense. Arkansas jumped up 14-0 in the first quarter and looked to go up two scores again midway into the second quarter when disaster struck.
The Arkansas Razorbacks football team looks abysmal tonight vs Texas A&M.
— Blake Rutherford (@blakerutherford) September 25, 2022
This was a kind way of expressing the frustration that Arkansas fans and the team seemed to experience for about a half against Texas A&M. They could barely move the ball after the “fumbled leap”. For further insult, the fumble at the half that made the score 14-13 was even worse. These are the types of mistakes that cannot happen against Alabama. Alabama will blow teams out if they make this many miscues.
This game is part of many big early October battles on Saturday.
Next Week’s College Football Schedule = 🔥
• no. 7 Kentucky @ no. 14 Ole Miss
• no. 18 OU @ 3-0 TCU
• no. 2 Alabama @ no. 20 Arkansas
• no. 9 Oklahoma State @ no. 16 Baylor
• no. 22 Wake Forest @ no. 23 FSU
• no. 10 NC State @ no. 5 Clemson#CollegeFootball— Ethan Saitowitz (@the_ebomb22) September 25, 2022
This is Arkansas’s greatest test but far from the only one. This Razorbacks team is not quite dynamic enough to win without playing more fundamentally sound football. They will need to be able to again move the ball on the ground against an Alabama team that is excellent against the run. K.J. Jefferson will have to pick his spots better, avoid errors, and set up the passing game. Alabama will score points and Arkansas will have to match.
Some may think 15.5 points is too many but a few accounts had this moving into the 17 to 19-point range.
Arkansas has to find a way to somehow keep up or slow down Alabama early in this game or else.
Expected Line Movement and Early Prediction
The early ATS money is on Alabama. There is a chance this line moves a couple points toward the road team after the way the Razorbacks lost last week. An early prediction is Arkansas should cover here.
A journalist veteran for over two decades, Chris has taught the gamut of fantasy hockey sports online from injuries to news to prospects, and more. He has bet on several sports and written sports betting articles about the NBA, MLB, NCAA football, the NFL, and NHL for USA Today.
