The Alabama Crimson Tide
Nick Saban has built the Alabama Crimson Tide into a program that doesn’t rebuild, they reload. With that being said, Alabama has a lot of question marks headed into their 2011 campaign.

Despite being less than 18-months removed from winning their BCS Championship, the Crimson Tide has undergone a major face lift. Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Greg McIlroy have moved on it is not going to be easy to fill those voids.

Under Saban, Alabama has been bland on offense and this year should be no different. The offense will revolve around Junior running back, Trent Richardson will give the Tide more flexibility and athleticism than Ingram brought, but there are questions about his durability.,

During his first four games of 2010, Richardson averaged 7.6 yards per carry. During the final seven games of the season when Ingram was healthy, Richardson’s carry-per-game average drop from 12 to 9. What concerns me is that during same period, Richardson saw a dramatic drop of 2.6 yard per-carry, dipping 5.2 yards per rush.

Alabama stability centers around their defense. While defense is Saban’s calling card, it was actually the unit that let the team down the most. They gave up 35-points to South Carolina, 24-points to offensively anemic LSU team and completely melted down against Auburn after being staked a 24-point lead.

SEC Title Hopes
If it sounds like I am very pessimistic about Alabama this year, it’s because I am. They are a team filled with holes in areas you need to be to win. Alabama is a -150 favorite win the SEC West and is the overall conference favorite at +170.

If you are going to lay betting odds in a future bet on college football, you better have some guarantees, and Alabama doesn’t offer them. No proven quarterback, no proven wide receiver, a running back whose numbers decreased as the year went by, no proven back-up, and a defense that gave up a lot of points and had major meltdowns.

I also don’t like Alabama’s schedule. They get Arkansas and LSU at home, but travel to Florida and Mississippi State. Their schedule just does them no favors. The SEC has the most talent in the country and every team is dangerous. I am going to pass on making a future bet on Alabama and will suggest Arkansas as the best alternative in the SEC West..

Worth a BCS Title Future?
I wouldn’t make this future bet with your money. No way. First off all, Alabama +500 to win the National Championship is an insult to those who really follow college football. It’s as if we learned nothing from Texas last year. Just because you wear the uniform, doesn’t mean you are great.

I have gone into great detail about Alabama’s turnover in their skill positions, with over 90-percent of their offensive production no longer in uniform. The Crimson Tide have an abnormally high amount of variables and the price is far to short to warrant money. However the +500 odds that Vegas is giving you does make it the “Sucker Bet of the Season.”

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