Auburn Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Betting Odds, Iron Bowl Pick, Preview

The Alabama Crimson Tide look to continue their drive for a fourth national title in six years when they host the Auburn Tigers in a huge SEC rivalry game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide and Tigers have combined to win four of the past five national championships. Auburn also appeared in last year’s BCS Championship Game, losing to the Florida State Seminoles 34-31 but covering the spread as 10.5-point underdogs.

But beware of Auburn, as it was an upset winner in five of the past six games where it was an underdog, according to the Odds Shark database.

Point spread: The Crimson Tide opened as seven-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 31.9-26.6 Crimson Tide

Why the Auburn Tigers can cover the spread

The Tigers appeared to be serious national title contenders this season until they suffered their first setback (38-23) against the Mississippi State Bulldogs as three-point road favorites.

They even still had a shot at the College Football Playoff until they dropped consecutive games to the Texas A&M Aggies and Georgia Bulldogs. However, they bounced back a bit last week with a 31-7 victory against the Samford Bulldogs.

Auburn still has a talented team with players who have experienced big games before, including beating the Crimson Tide 34-28 last year as a 10-point home underdog. That game alone just proves anything can happen in this intrastate rivalry.

Why the Alabama Crimson Tide can cover the spread

Alabama obviously must keep winning to stay in national title contention, so losing this game is not an option.

The Crimson Tide are riding a six-game winning streak since suffering their only setback of the season against the Ole Miss Rebels 23-17 as a 4.5-point road favorite. The team has not allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points during that stretch with the under going 5-1.

Alabama has taken care of business at home against SEC opponents recently. It has a 7-1 record against the spread in its last eight games under that scenario. The exception was a 25-20 win over Mississippi State as a nine-point favorite two weeks ago.

But that victory still knocked the Bulldogs from No. 1 and allowed the Tide to roll into the top spot.

Smart Pick

Alabama has won 15 straight games as a home favorite, and there’s no reason to believe this team will not be able to continue that streak here. The Crimson Tide have risen to the occasion in almost every game this year and seem to be getting stronger as the season wears on.

The Tigers have won eight of the last 12 meetings with Alabama, but they lost four of the past six. Two of the previous three games between the teams in Tuscaloosa were shutouts by the home team.

That might be a bit of stretch, but it shows how much the level of defensive intensity picks up when Alabama is playing in front of its fans. The Tide will win this one by at least two touchdowns.

Betting Trends

• Auburn is 6-3 ATS in its last nine games on the road.
• Alabama is 15-0 SU in its last five games as home chalk.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes were gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.