Alabama vs. Florida State 2017: Betting Odds, Start Time, TV Channel

It’s a different year but the same story for No.1 Alabama, as the team gets ready to play in the biggest game of college football’s opening weekend. The Crimson Tide enter the 2017 season with the best betting odds to win the national championship, and they are favorites at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium against No.3 Florida State.

The Seminoles are also one of the sport’s top teams. One year removed from a 10-win season that concluded with a victory in the Orange Bowl, FSU is among the favorites to make the College Football Playoff and compete for the title. You might not know it by looking at the point spread for Saturday’s game (8 p.m. EDT start time), which makes them significant underdogs on a neutral field.

Alabama is a seven-point favorite, via OddsShark, playing for the first time since losing in last year’s CFP National Championship Game. Nick Saban’s squad was favored in that game, too, as they are just about every time they step on the field.

According to ESPN’s David Purdum, Alabama has been favored in 97 of their last 98 games. The only outlier came in October two years ago against Georgia, and the Crimson Tide ended up winning that game by 28 points.

For the majority of those games, the betting line was at least 10 points. Alabama has only been favored by single digits 25 times since the start of the 2010 season, going 18-7 in those contests.

Alabama usually wins, regardless of the betting line. The Crimson Tide went 14-1 in both 2015 and 2016, totaling at least 10 wins for nine straight years and no fewer than 12 wins in seven of those seasons.

Covering the spread, however, isn’t always a guarantee.

Alabama is 53-43-1 against the spread in their last 97 games. When favored by less than 10 points, the Crimson Tide have covered the betting line just nine times in 25 attempts. They’ve done better recently, going 5-1 against the spread in such situations before being defeated by Clemson in January.

Florida State could pull off the upset, let alone just cover the spread. They’ve won at least 10 games in each of the last five years, and they have all the tools to take a step forward from last season.

Bringing back most of their key defenders from a year ago, the Seminoles should have one of the nation’s best defenses in 2017. They’ll look to slow down Jalen Hurts, who returns as Alabama’s starting quarterback after being named the 2016 SEC Player of the Year as a freshman.

If Hurts is able to find success in the passing game, FSU’s chances take a major hit. It’s almost certain that Alabama will be able to run the ball with authority, considering Hurts and running backs Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough combined for 2,806 yards on the ground in 2016.

But if Florida State’s front-seven can control the line of scrimmage and keep the total below the over/under of 49.5, Saturday’s game could get very interesting.

ESPN will have the TV broadcast of Alabama vs. Florida State. Fans can see a free live stream online with WatchESPN.