CFB picks: One of the hottest seats anywhere in college football resides in Morgantown, West Virginia where Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen enters his fourth year on the job presiding over a program that has clearly regressed and has been proven out of its element since joining the Big 12 Conference. The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide are again the media’s choice to win the Southeastern Conference and many have inked them in a spot for the four-team national championship playoff. The Tide must replace AJ McCarron at QB after his three year run of two national championships and a 36-4 record.
The West Virginia Mountaineers will face the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Saturday with coverage on ABC starting at 3:30 PM ET. BetDSI opened with Alabama as a 26 point favorite.
Sliding Down the Mountain
Senior QB Clint Trickett returns with five other starters on offense while the much maligned and leaky defense has seven starters back. Trickett has been inconsistent but has had the pressure of playing a lot of catch up games due to the Mountaineers being unable to keep opponents off the scoreboard. West Virginia has paid out in just three out of their last 10 neutral site games. They are 1-6 against the spread in their last seven nonconference games. Lowly Kansas got their only Big 12 win against West Virginia last year.
Tide to Roll with “The Process” Again
After their stunning loss at Auburn followed by a lifeless loss in the Sugar Bowl to Oklahoma it was clear that the Alabama Crimson Tide needed an attitude adjustment. The Tide has a renewed sense of purpose for 2014 and a roster stocked with top shelf recruits. Head coach Nick Saban is well known for “The Process” which is how he describes his program and its continuing evolution. Perhaps the most interesting story is that Lane Kiffin is now the offensive coordinator where Blake Sims and Jake Coker have been battling for the starting quarterback job with neither signal caller standing out. It may come down to Sims being able to play faster due to his better familiarity with the offense. Seven starters return to an offense that is loaded with skill and a quality line. Running back TJ Yeldon returns after a 1235 yard season that included 14 TD’s. Alabama has covered eight out of their last 10 neutral site games.
Our Pick
We will not stand in front of a freight train. Even with a huge gap of 26 points to make up for, Bama gets the call here.
