Alabama Football: Las Vegas releases early point spreads for 6 games on Tide schedule

College football is right around the corner and with it comes predictions and odds for the new season. Vegas recently released some opening spreads for a few key games in the 2022 season. A name that naturally came up a ton in the marquee matchups was the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Of the six games listed for the Tide, they are not just favored in all of them. Vegas favors them by double-digits in every one and favors them by two touchdowns or more in five of the six.

• Alabama (-15) @ Texas
• Alabama (-17) @ Arkansas
• Texas A&M @ Alabama (-16)
• Alabama (-13.5) @ Tennessee
• Alabama (-16) @ LSU
• Auburn @ Alabama (-24)

The first on the list is their second-week showdown against the Texas Longhorns. Steve Sarkisian, a former Alabama OC, may have a few tricks up his sleeve for Nick Saban. However, this is the kind of early, non-conference tilt where the Tide usually make a statement. That could be case again on Sept. 10 in Austin.

The remaining five games are all SEC clashes. The closest game they will face per the spreads is in Knoxville against Tennessee on Oct. 15. Expectations have been raised for Josh Heupel’s Volunteers though it remains to be seen how close they can stay with the Tide. Alabama won emphatically last season in a 52-24 route.

One eye-catcher is Texas A&M as a +16 underdog on the road in Tuscalooa. The Aggies gave Alabama their only regular-season loss last season with a buzzer-beating field goal to win 41-38 at Kyle Field. With all the fuel on the fire between Saban and Jimbo Fisher this offseason, fans will hope to see the Aggies cover for a much more competitive game.

The odds favor Alabama by 17 and 16 against Arkansas and LSU, respectively. The final spread is for the Iron Bowl against Auburn. It’s the biggest spread of all with a comparatively large 24-point cushion. The Tigers had their arch-nemesis on the ropes last year before Bryce Young led his team to a 24-22 come-from-behind overtime win. While the Tide will have all momentum, anything is possible on rivalry weekend.

Alabama will be shooting for their eighth undefeated or one-loss season under Nick Saban. That would place them firmly in the mix for both the SEC title and College Football Playoff. Spreads like these are eye-popping in college football but routine in Tuscaloosa. They’ll get their first opportunity to live up to this preseason hype when they open against Utah State on Sept. 3.