Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Prediction, 8/31/2024 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Alabama Crimson Tide

Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024

Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Crimson Tide (-31)

Total/Over-Under: 59.5

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-5 last year) are en route to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, August 31, 2024 where they will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-2 last season). Alabama opens this matchup as 31.0-point favorites from oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 59.5.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers finished the year having a 8-5 record. In their last game, the Hilltoppers stepped onto the field against the Old Dominion Monarchs and went home with a win by a final score of 38-35. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers ended up running the ball 35 times and compiled 73 yards, which had them averaging 2.1 yards per attempt. In all, they ran 91 plays which gave them a total of 471 yards. Western Kentucky gave up 13 pass completions on 22 attempts for a total of 123 yds, and a completion rate of 59.1%. When it came to the battle of the line of scrimmage, the Hilltoppers gave up 196 yds on 31 tries, which is an average of 6.3 yards per rush allowed.

Concerning putting the ball in the endzone, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers held an average of 30.5 points per contest. As a team they had an average of 105.4 yards on the ground, ranking this team 119th in college football. The Hilltoppers earned 5,223 total yards for last season. Western Kentucky compiled 38 touchdowns via the pass and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Western Kentucky had 263 1st downs as an offense, and they were called for 59 infractions for 478 yds. They turned the ball over 23 times.

The Hilltoppers ranked 94th in the nation concerning their opponents scoring, conceding 28.7 points per contest. The opposition ran for an average of 4.9 yards per attempt on the ground and 190.0 yards on the ground per game throughout last season. For the season, they conceded 2,470 running yards through 13 games. Regarding passing yardage, the Hilltoppers gave up 2,986 yds which had them ranked 91st in D-1. During their 13 games played last season, they allowed 229.7 yards per contest via the pass and relinquishing a completion percentage of 58.3%. They allowed 419.7 yards per contest ranking them 111th in the nation. They gave up 20 passing touchdowns as well as 23 touchdowns on the ground.

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The Crimson Tide wrapped up their season holding a 12-2 record. When they last stepped on the field, the Crimson Tide took a loss by a score of 27-20 when they played the Michigan Wolverines. Alabama allowed 32 rushing attempts for 130 yds (4.1 yards per rush). The Crimson Tide secondary conceded a completion rate of 63.0%, relinquishing 221 yds on 17 out of 27 passing. The Crimson Tide finished the contest with a total of 288 yards and they ran 66 plays (4.4 yds per play). Alabama ran the ball for 4.0 yards per attempt, finishing with a total of 172 yds on 43 carries.

In terms of their scoring prowess, the Crimson Tide sat 24th in the country by scoring 34.0 points per contest. The Alabama Crimson Tide had an average of 393.1 yards/game, which ranked them 58th in D-1. The Alabama offense totaled 655 yds of penalties on 78 violations, which was 54th in the country in terms of helping out the other team. They threw 6 interceptions while allowing opponents to recover 6 fumbles and they earned 280 1st downs. For the prior season, the Crimson Tide compiled 3,086 yards via the pass in addition to an average of 220.4 throwing yards per game, which had them ranked 70th in the country. They averaged 172.6 yards per game on the ground and rushed for 2,416 yards overall.

The Crimson Tide gave up 19.0 PPG, ranking them 16th in Division 1. Alabama surrendered a total of 1,749 yards rushing (124.9 yards per game) in addition to 15 touchdowns rushing last season. Overall, they allowed 266 total points. They conceded 17 touchdowns from the passing game and 191.1 yards/outing, which had them sitting 24th in college football. The Crimson Tide defense was on the field for 883 plays, which was 91st in the country. Their defense compiled 7 fumbles and 13 interceptions over the course of last year.

Who will win tonight's Hilltoppers/Crimson Tide college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Hilltoppers +31.0

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