College Football Picks: Michigan vs. Alabama

How about a top ten extravaganza to open up the college football season this weekend? Get ready for to see your National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Michigan Wolverines at Cowboys Stadium.

So we've given our college football picks on both the betting spread and the total. The Crimson Tide, despite being favored by two touchdowns at some books, are the side we're taking.

We're liking the OVER for the total as we expect Denard Robinson to make at least a couple of big-time plays for Michigan at Cowboys Stadium. 

Alabama should make some strides offensively as well, despite losing Trent Richardson to the NFL, considering they have a healthy number of effective running backs waiting in the wings. Quarterback A.J. McCarron has already led his team to a national championship and he should be full of confidence now after such a successful year. 

One piece of important news to come out during the week has been the uncertain status of Michigan's starting running back, Fitzgerald Toussaint. Well, it was just announced that Toussaint will be suspended for the game against the Crimson Tide, which is obviously a blow to the Wolverines' chances. 

Toussaint finished with 1,041 yards on 187 carries last season and recorded nine rushing touchdowns as well.

What this means is Robinson is going to have to shoulder an even bigger load on offense. 

How Michigan's star quarterback fares will be the headlining story of Saturday's game. He has the tools to really do some damage against Alabama's lightning quick defense.

That said, you don't often see a lot of big plays made against the Crimson Tide and ultimately the superior depth, experience and athleticism should lead to a victory for Alabama in this fantastic top ten matchup to start off the season.

What's the right side in your opinion? Head on over to our college football handicapping forums and give us your thoughts and predictions on what to expect for this matchup and the rest of the weekend's games.

We've already broken down our spread betting pick for this top ten showdown, and in the end we believe the Crimson Tide to be the right side. 

But what about the total? Sportsbooks locked down an opening number of 45 and the line hasn't shifted much at all, with current numbers showing 45.5 at most college football betting sites. 

Michigan had seven of its twelve games go UNDER the total last season, while Alabamawas a dead split at six and six.

The Wolverines' bread and butter offensively was their rushing attack as they averaged 221.8 yards per game, thanks in large part to Denard Robinson's scrambling ability. He had a team-high 1163 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, while Fitzgerald Toussaint also broke the 1,000 yard barrier, averaging 5.8 YPC in 2011/12.

Defensively, Michigan was excellent. Brady Hoke's team ranked sixth in all of college football in points allowed (17.4). Guess who was first. 

That's right, the Crimson Tide had the country's best defense last year and, although they lost a number of starters to the NFL, this unit shouldn't drop a beat in terms of athleticism and overall talent.

Alabama's offense revolved around Trent Richardson but obviously that won't be the case this time around. A.J. McCarron should be given a lot more freedom now that he's got another year under his belt and that could mean much more balanced gameplans this season.

Alabama's defense is no joke, but if Michigan's dual-threat quarterback can play to his full potential and keep the Wolverines' offense on the field, this one should wind up going OVER the posted total. And, while the Crimson Tide remain an elite defensive team, they do have to deal with one of the most dangerous players in the nation this weekend. Robinson is pretty special and should be able to use his legs to make some big plays.

OVER 45.5

What a start to the season it should be as a couple top ten programs meet up in one of the largest stadiums in the country.

The college football odds, however, are squarely in Alabama's favor. The defending national champions opened as 11.5-point favorites a while back and the number has gradually risen to 12.5 and even 13 at various sportsbooks.

With Alabama set to be popular sports pick this weekend, there's a good possibility of that spread rising even more ahead of kickoff on Saturday.

That said, the total for the game has stayed still, opening at 45 and staying right there.

Michigan 

Can Denard Robinson lead Michigan to a miracle victory in the first week of the season? 

He's going to have to be special. Robinson has lost his two top receivers from last season and, although he's a dangerous runner too, the Crimson Tide most definitely have the athleticism on the defensive side of the ball to keep him relatively in check.

Nick Saban and Alabama have had plenty of experience dealing with mobile quarterbacks (LSU's Jordan Jefferson and Auburn's Kiehl Frazier to name a couple). Even though Robinson is more talented, the Crimson Tide should be well-prepared. 

Also, there are still questions about Fitz Toussaint and whether he will be allowed to play this weekend. The Wolverines could really use him in the backfield against what will be one of the best defenses in the nation.

2011/12 was a special season for Michigan and their 11-2 final record announced to the country that they were back. A win against the national champs would be huge, but is it within reach? 

Alabama 

Let's see what Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide can do as a follow-up act after crushing LSU in the BCS Championship Game last year to finish as national champions. 

A.J. McCarron is back for his junior season and should do even better now that he's got another year under his belt. His confidence will be through the roof now that he's already won the big game. 

You can't talk about Alabama without mentioning that offensive line and man is it a special unit. With tremendous size and experience, the Crimson Tide will boast one of the best lines that college football has ever seen. 

That should make life much easier for the multiple running backs that will step in to try and fill the shoes of departed NFL back Trent Richardson. It shouldn't be that much different though considering both Eddie Lacy and Jalston Fowler, who will see a majority of the carries this season, both averaged at least 6.9 YPC in 2011/12. 

Defensively, the Crimson Tide lost quite a few starters to the NFL, but Saban is one of the country's best recruiters and there's bound to be plenty of young guys that step up and make their names known.

College Football ATS Pick 

The Wolverines could be in for a world of hurt. They had a spectacular season last year, but the Crimson Tide are a whole different animal and their superior athleticism on both sides of the ball should prove to be too much. 

Robinson will have to have the game of his life for Michigan to stay competitive. He has to avoid mistakes and that's going to be tricky against Alabama's immensely quick and instinctive defense. 

We can expect quite a crowd for the Crimson Tide at Cowboys Stadium and in the end I feel they'll have too much talent for the Wolverines. Alabama is my pick on the spread this weekend.

Pick: Alabama Crimson Tide -12.5

Be sure to be on the lookout for our O/U pick and then a final analysis later on in the week!