College Football Preview: Alabama and Oklahoma Look to Make Statements

The Crimson Tide and the Sooners both face ranked foes at home this weekend. Al Dannity likes Alabama but fears for Oklahoma.

A potential mismatch
Penn State looked solid, if unspectacular, in its opening week win over Youngstown State. After passing that easy test at home, the Nittany Lions face a much greater challenge on the road at Alabama. The reigning BCS National Champions recorded an equally facile win over San Jose State on Saturday but enter this game stacked with more experience than Penn State’s roster.

While much has been made of Alabama’s turnover of personnel on defense, it will take at least another week before we can spot any weaknesses. That’s because Joe Paterno has put his faith in freshman quarterback Robert Bolden. While the young signal-caller has talent, it’s unreasonable for College Football betting fans to expect him to post impressive numbers against a team like Alabama in only his second career start.

With the Nittany Lions unlikely to get much done on offense, it will fall to the defense to keep PSU in the game. Unfortunately for Penn State, Alabama is in much better shape on offense. Quarterback Greg McElroy looks more confident this year and with Julio Jones at his disposal, I expect the Tide signal caller to have a big day on Saturday. This won’t be close, bet on Alabama to win as a -11.5 point favorite with Sports Interaction.

Plenty to Ponder
Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder enters Norman this Saturday with a chance to give his Heisman campaign a national stage. The Seminoles signal caller went 12 of 14 for 167 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception against Samford in the season-opener on Saturday. Ponder will prove an invaluable weapon to the Seminoles as they look to pull off an early season shock against the Sooners.

Oklahoma looked flat-out ordinary against Utah State. The Aggies don’t belong on the same field as any elite outfit but hung with the Sooners until late in the fourth quarter. The inconsistency of Landry Jones under center is a big concern for Oklahoma. The sophomore quarterback went 17 of 36 for 217 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. It took a ferocious performance from DeMarco Murray on the ground, going 218 yards on 35 carries with 2 touchdowns, to drag the Sooners over the finish line. A player of Murray’s talent shouldn’t be taking that many touches against a WAC opponent other than Boise State.

This one is going to be tight and while I like the Sooners to edge it on the day, the Seminoles look great value as a +8.0 underdog with Sports Interaction.