What's Up With Alabama? 

OK, we've all heard plenty about just how great the Southeastern Conference is in football. And with Florida and Alabama ranked first and second, respectively, I suppose the accolades are deserved.

But in the latter stage of November, with conference championships and BCS bowl games beginning to take shape, what is the second-ranked team in all the land doing playing Chattanooga? I can see putting a couple of Football Championship Subdivision games on the early-season schedule. But when a November game isn't even on the betting board, perhaps you're playing down just a little bit lower than you should be at this time of year.

Alabama rolled 45-0 at home, and I sure hope that was a fine tuneup for the Iron Bowl against Auburn, or better still the SEC title game against Florida. And speaking of the Gators, it's not like they did much better Saturday, scheduling something called Florida International. Most fans probably think that's another airport in Florida they once flew out of.

No surprise that Florida rolled 62-3, but at least that game was bettable --- and the Gators covered as a 47-point home favorite. Yeah, great stuff. A late November game featuring the No. 1 team in the country against an airport.

 Adding Up College Football: 

The Gators and Crimson Tide led a pretty good Saturday for top-25 teams, who went 15-4 straight-up (SU) and 11-7 against the spread (ATS) --- as noted above, Alabama's game wasn't on the betting board.

Florida and Bama weren't alone in feasting on cupcakes Saturday, but at least the other heavily favored ranked teams were getting things done in conference play. Top-25 units that went off as double-digit chalks Saturday went 11-1 SU and a solid 8-4 ATS.

The two SU letdown: No. 25 Rutgers, which was laying 10.5 points at Syracuse and got blasted outright 31-13. The Scarlet Knights trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and never recovered.

And how about Stanford, ranked 14th and laying 7.5 at home in the Big Game against Cal? Not such a Big Game performance for the Cardinal, who blew an early 14-0 lead in an eventual 34-28 loss.

Interesting that many handicappers, sports services and tipsheets came strong on Rutgers and Stanford yesterday (and for the sake of disclosure, yours truly had a small 5 dime play on the Cardinal). It never fails: when you see teams with that much "weight" on them, they inevitably fail both on the field and especially in Vegas.

One more note before we go: Michigan fans, take solace. Your Wolverines covered by a half-point in their 21-10 home loss to Ohio State. Nothing like being a double-digit home underdog to your archrival. Wonder if RichRod can sell that to the boosters. "Hey, we covered against Ohio State!"

 NFL Two-Minute Drill: 

Finally, the bye weeks have wrapped up in the NFL, so we've got a 14-game slate today .We'll wrap up your weekend with a big batch of betting trends:

The Browns are on a 3-11-1 ATS plunge and are 2-6 ATS in their last eight roadies, with equally dismal Detroit on tap today.

The Lions are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 home games against AFC foes, but they carry negative ATS streaks of 3-10 at home and 16-35-1 laying points.

The over has hit in five straight home games for Jacksonville and six of Buffalo's last eight road games.

The Super Bowl champion Steelers are in ATS ruts of 3-7 overall (all as a favorite), 1-5 on the road (also all as a chalk) and 2-6 as a non-division double-digit favorite, heading into Kansas City.

The Chiefs have cashed in four of their last five overall and are on a 6-2 ATS run catching double digits, though they are on a 4-13 ATS purge at home.

The Colts are 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in their last six clashes with the Ravens, and they are on further pointspread upswings of 4-0 on the road and 26-9-1 in non-division roadies.

Baltimore is 21-8 ATS in its last 29 starts and 31-12 ATS in its last 43 non-division home tilts.

The under is 5-1 in the last six meetings between the Colts and Ravens.

The Giants, hosting Atlanta, are on ATS rolls of 15-6 as a non-division chalk and 39-13-3 against NFC foes. However, New York is on an 0-4 SU and ATS slide.

The Falcons have been a great bounce-back bet, with ATS streaks of 10-1 following a SU loss and 9-2 after a pointspread setback.

The Packers, at home today, have won six in a row against the 49ers, bagging the cash in five of those games (4-0 SU and ATS last four).

San Francisco is 9-3-2 ATS in its last 14 games.

The SU winner is on a 7-1-1 ATS tear in the Pack-Niners rivalry.

Minnesota has gone just 1-5-1 ATS in its last six home starts and is on a 1-10-1 ATS dive laying more than 10 points, with Seattle in town today. That said, the SU winner has covered in the last six clashes between these two.

The Seahawks are 2-6 SU and ATS in their last eight games and are on additional ATS skids of 0-5 on the highway and 0-6 as a pup.

The Cowboys are on ATS rolls of 12-3 in November (5-1 last six) and 7-2 at home, but they are also just 3-9 ATS in their last 12 NFC East affairs, with Washington up today.

The Redskins are on a 6-1 ATS surge as a division road dog, but they carry negative ATS streaks of 4-11-2 overall and 2-6 against winning teams.

The unbeaten Saints, visiting Tampa Bay, are 2-5 ATS in their last seven NFC South contests, but the pointspread streaks surge upward from there, including 11-4-1 overall, 6-1-1 on the road, 11-3 as a chalk and 5-1 laying points on the highway.

The Bucs are 1-12 SU in their last 13 games (4-9 ATS), and they are on ATS freefalls of 3-8 overall, 1-7 at Raymond James Stadium and 1-5 as a home pup.

Arizona is on spread-covering sprees of 5-1 overall, 5-0 on the road (4-0 SU and ATS this year), 5-1 against losing teams and 11-5 as a chalk, heading into St. Louis.

The Rams are 1-18 SU (8-11 ATS) in their last 19 games, and they are on ATS declines of 7-18 at home, 4-12 as a home pup and 6-16 versus winning teams.

The Patriots are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 meetings with the Jets, and New England is on a 20-5-1 ATS tear following a SU loss.

The Jets are 1-5 SU and ATS in their last six games.

As favorites, the Bengals are on ATS skids of 1-6 overall, 1-6 in roadies and 1-10 laying double digits, with Oakland on deck. However, Cincy has cashed in four of its last five overall and four of its last five road games, and is also 18-7-1 ATS in its last 26 November contests.

Cincinnati followed its last upset of the Steelers by needing overtime to nip the then-winless Cleveland Browns 23-20 in a game the Bengals failed to cover.

The Raiders are in ATS funks of 2-5 overall, 9-21 as a home dog and 6-14 in non-division home games.

The SU winner is 7-0-1 ATS in the last eight clashes between the Chargers and Broncos, heading into today's contest in Denver.

The Broncos are on ATS freefalls of 0-4 after a SU loss, 7-22 after a non-cover, 5-14-1 in the AFC West (2-7 at home) and 7-18-1 on their home field.

San Diego is 22-10-4 ATS in its last 36 division starts, going 6-3 ATS in its last nine AFC West roadies.

Philadelphia, visiting Chicago, sports positive pointspread streaks of 5-1 after either a SU or an ATS loss, 4-1 against losing teams and 12-5 within the NFC.

The Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last five as a home pup and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 after a SU loss, but they are on spread-covering slides of 1-4 overall, 1-7 getting points, 1-6-1 against winning teams and 2-6 in November.

• Al DeMarco, General Manager of VegasAdvisors.com and the featured handicapping analyst on Comcast Sports TV in New York and Chicago, is a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry. Get his daily advice and betting strategies at  VegasAdvisors.com

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