It’s that time again, that yearly tradition for the Alabama Crimson Tide to welcome an FCS foe to Tuscaloosa, giving the starters a bit of a break by putting the game out of reach by halftime, writing a big check to a university for the privilege of delivering a hide-tanning. The West Carolina Catamounts are 3-8 and finish their regular season against the Tide. West Carolina has won two of three, beating VMI and East Texas State before falling by 18 points to Samford at home last week. Alabama will start Mac Jones at quarterback after losing Tua Tagovailoa to a hip injury for the season (and probably for good) last week against Mississippi State. Jones was only able to lead the Crimson Tide to a field goal in the second half, but the Alabama defense shut down the Bulldogs and should be able to shut down the Catamounts as well.
Western Carolina vs Alabama 2019 College Football Week 13 Spread & Pick
Wednesday night practice ✔️ Thankful for these views everyday ❕ pic.twitter.com/hi8XHPFEfy
— Western Carolina Football (@CatamountsFB) November 20, 2019
- When: Saturday, November 23, 2019, 12:00 pm ET
- Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: Catamount Sports Network / Alabama Crimson Tide Sports Network
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- College Football Week 13 Odds: Alabama -57 / O/U 61
Why should you bet on the Catamounts?
West Carolina does have an offense that can hit on big plays now and then. They can grind the ball down the field as well. They don’t do it often, but it will depend on how motivated the Alabama defense is. After all, their starting quarterback is gone. Their College Football Playoff hopes are almost certainly gone. Now they are left to play out the string that will likely end with the Iron Bowl and then a bowl game that is not in the College Football Playoff. How much motivation will they have?
Obviously, a 57-point line is gargantuan. There are several books that aren’t even offering action on this game because of all the intangibles. Given that Alabama will basically look ahead to the Iron Bowl and use this game to tune up and then put starters on the bench, it’s hard to imagine that the Catamounts would not mount a back-door cover. With a line somewhere in the 40s, this argument would be tougher to make. But Alabama has to win by more than eight touchdowns to cover here.
Why should you put your money on the Crimson Tide?
Western Carolina’s defense is dreadful. Mac Jones should have plenty of looks down the field, while he is in the game, and Jerry Jeudy and the rest of the wide receiving corps should have plenty of space to operate. Putting up points won’t be the problem when it comes to Alabama covering, at least with the starters in the game. Najee Harris will have plenty of holes to run through.
However, we don’t know when the starters will come out of the game. Traditionally, in a game like this, the starters put the game out of reach by halftime and then watch the rest of the depth chart take over. While Mac Jones makes a solid replacement for Tagovailoa, you don’t want him to get hurt and then the Tide go into their matchup at Auburn with a third-string quarterback running things. So I think we see the Tide up by five touchdowns at halftime and then go into a sort of stall the rest of the way.
Final Score Prediction
It’s kind of smart to put a cupcake game in the late part of the season, because injuries pile up and every now and then you need a week to reload. A lot of schools schedule their FCS games in the first few weeks of the season, but it’s strategic sense to put West Carolina here. But can Alabama really cover a 57-point spread? With starters on the bench for the second half? I just don’t see it. I’m more likely to play the “over” in this game, as a 55-10 score wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
