Texas A&M vs Alabama Odds, Lines and Spread
- The Alabama Crimson Tide are 17.5-point favorites against the Texas A&M Aggies in the second week of SEC play on Saturday at 3:30pm EST
- Jimbo Fisher is winless against Nick Saban in his head coaching career at Florida State and A&M
- See the odds, spread and betting advice for the game within the story below
In arguably the biggest matchup of Week 5, Alabama and Texas A&M meet in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm EST on CBS.
The Aggies have reason for optimism this season, but against the Crimson Tide, positives are going to be hard to come by.
Missouri managed to cover the 28-point spread against Alabama last weekend, but head coach Nick Saban gave playing time to 5-star true freshman QB Bryce Young and shuffled out starters in the fourth quarter. For the majority of the game, Alabama far out-classed the Tigers and smothered them on both sides of the ball.
Meanwhile in College Station, Vanderbilt had several chances in the fourth quarter to escape with an upset against A&M as 30-point underdogs, but failed to score a final touchdown to do so.
Texas A&M vs Alabama Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | +17.5 (-115) | +630 | O 51.5 (-110) |
| Alabama | -17.5 (-105) | -1000 | U 51.5 (-110) |
Odds taken on Sept. 30 on FanDuel
After squashing the Aggies 47-28 at Kyle Field last season, and with the Alabama vs Texas A&M odds showing the Tide as 17.5-point favorites at home in Bryant-Denny Stadium this time around, Alabama appear primed to deliver a repeat performance.
Bettors appear to agree, as nearly all of the money and tickets have been placed on the Tide thus far.
Return of the Mac
An interesting prop bet would be the over/under on times this season that media and broadcasters make a Mark Morrison song reference about Alabama redshirt junior quarterback Mac Jones.
He showed why he was deserving of retaining his starter role against Mizzou by completing 75% of his passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
Bryce Young will continue to be worked into games to get some experience, but Jones has proven to be a steady and capable presence under center since last season. Of course, he has one of the most dynamic receivers in all of college football to throw to in junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, but against the Tigers, there was no particular down-and-distance that proved problematic for him.
Jones also finished with an impressive 10.4 yards-per-attempt on his passes.
Waddle is lined up for another big performance this Saturday against an Aggies defense has been hit hard by players that opted-out of this season due to COVID-19 concerns. Elijah Blades, A&M’s top defensive back signee from last year, and safety Derrick Tucker are two of the six players that have chosen to sit out this season.
Tucker has been in-and-out of the starting lineup at safety, but in addition to Blades and starting linebacker Anthony Hines Jr., head coach Jimbo Fisher has to continue patching up a defense that notably struggled against the pass last season.
Diminishing Returns From Mond
The Aggies could do worse than Kellen Mond at quarterback, but after the majority of three seasons as the the starter, it’s debatable if he’s bringing anything to the table this year that he hasn’t already.
A&M is pretty deep when it comes to pass-catchers, but prior to this season, some of Mond’s most memorable career performances have come in losses.
Texas A&M drops 3 spots to #13 overall in the latest AP Poll
Aggies will face #2 Alabama, #3 Florida and #16 Mississippi St over the next 3 weeks… pic.twitter.com/iaEpoigXKr
— Tim England (@tengland_150) September 27, 2020
Against Vandy, Mond completed 60% of his passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, but he also lost two of his three fumbles as a runner. Mond was particularly poor throwing on early downs against the Commodores, which could create issues for the Aggies against Alabama, who only allowed two yards-per-rush against the Tigers.
Best Bet for Saturday
The old adage of “Lay the points with Bama” rings true in this one. Texas A&M’s strategy is likely to try and keep the pace of play down and avoid giving up big plays on defense. That sounds good in theory, but looks like a daunting task under the circumstances.
The Aggies have some talented players, but the experience and quality all over Alabama’s roster should be more than enough to help the Tide easily cover at home.
Pick: Alabama -17.5 (-105)
Nick Krueger has over a decade of experience in sports media, covering a wide range of events including two Olympic Games for Yahoo Sports. Other areas of focus for Nick throughout his career have included college football recruiting, NCAA athletics and Major League Baseball Spring Training.
