Saturday night brings a huge showdown in college football with the Florida State vs. Alabama matchup. Tonight’s game will likely have a College Football Playoffs feel to it as well. The game will feature the No. 1 and No. 3 team battling on the gridiron in the Chick-Fil-A Classic to start off their latest 2017 NCAA football seasons. Which of the two squads will grab an important victory to kick off their latest college football campaign? Here are the latest details on how to watch the FSU vs. Alabama football game live streaming online or on television, as well as game odds, and more.
According to ESPN in their report , this may be the “biggest opening game” for the college football season ever. It features the first time in history that two teams in the top three have played during the opening weekend. Today’s FSU vs. Alabama venue will be the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia where ultimately the 2017 College Football Playoff will be decided at the end of this season. Before that happens, two teams will meet who could have a stake in that National Championship. One of them is the Alabama Crimson Tide, who nearly captured another title in last year’s big game, but ultimately fell to Clemson, 35-31.
The other team, the Florida State Seminoles, are the current odds on favorite to win this SEC this season which could give Alabama plenty of incentive for today. The Seminoles have lost their top running back Dalvin Cook who is now a part of the NFL. However, they bring back quarterback Deondre Francois who is considered their best player at the position since Jameis Winston. As a freshman, Francois completed 235-of-400 pass attempts for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’ll look for more success in this upcoming season, but this first game is going to be a major measuring stick as his season gets underway.
The Crimson Tide have lost several key defensive personnel to the NFL including standout defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and cornerback Marlon Humphrey. However, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is 8-3 all-time in matchups against opponents in the top three, giving the Crimson Tide one edge with coaching experience. Another edge will come due to the fact they have both their quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Bo Scarborough returning to the field this season. In 2016, Scarborough had 143 attempts for 916 yards and 12 touchdowns. QB Jalen Hurts threw 240-of-382 completed passes last season for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns. Hurts was also among the top rushers for the team.
So who is expected to win? The Odds Shark website reported on Saturday that the Crimson Tide are 7.5-point favorites to win on the spread. They’re at -290 to -310 on the moneyline with the Florida State Seminoles as +245 to +310 underdogs. Tonight’s over/under points total is currently hovering around 50.5 points for the complete game. In terms of future odds to win the National Championship, Vegas Insider lists the Crimson Tide hold the top spot with 3 to 1 odds while FSU is fourth overall as a 10 to 1 favorite to win it all this season.
These two teams have both done well against the spread in their last five to eight matchups. Alabama is 7-3 ATS and FSU is 5-1 ATS. However, the two teams are also starting out a brand new season with new personnel on the field. It certainly will provide college football fans an exciting way to kick off the latest season in anticipation of many more games to come.
Saturday night’s Florida State vs. Alabama live streaming and televised football game will start at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. ABC and their affiliated channels will provide the live telecast for viewers around the United States. Current cable and satellite subscribers in select regions can head to the ABC live stream portion of their website to see tonight’s game feed. Keep in mind that this streaming feed only works in certain major cities of the country including Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, and San Francisco.
In addition, many cable and satellite customers around the nation can access tonight’s game live streaming on ESPN3 via the WatchESPN website or their compatible mobile apps. The ESPN3 network will also provide a Florida State vs. Alabama postgame show, beginning at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
[Featured Image by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]