This Saturday the two most dominant teams in college football take the field in one of the most anticipated matchups in recent memory. There is zero debate that the SEC is king considering they are 7-0 in title games (Florida (2), LSU (2), Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn) and many consider the winner of the SEC Title Game the best team in the land even before the National Championship is played. Current odds have Alabama favored to win the BCS National Championship at +100 and LSU sitting right behind at +175 ($100.00 wager would profit $175.00). Once you get past the SEC giants, the next three teams in contention are Oklahoma State at +385, Stanford at +800 and Boise State at +1200. Each and every year whether on ESPN or at the local pub, sports fans and bettors alike do the almighty "what if" debates on what would happen if this team played that team. So "what if" this Saturday Oklahoma State, Stanford or Boise State switched spots with LSU and played Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa? Instead of debating opinions, I went right to the very people that create the lines and book millions of dollars of action on sporting events each and every week. For the expert opinion from Las Vegas I went to Chris Andrews from Cal Neva and Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book. On the offshore end I went to the oddsmakers from BetOnline who were the first non-US land based betting operation to put up a line on the Alabama-LSU game. So let us get right down to business and at the end I would love to hear everyone's opinion or thoughts on what the experts think and who you would bet on in the "what if" matchup this Saturday by replying below.

Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book:
*Alabama -7.0 over Stanford
*Alabama -9.0 over Oklahoma State
*Alabama -9.0 over Boise State
*LSU favored over all three

Chris Andrews from Cal Neva:
*Alabama -6.0 over Stanford
*Alabama -10.0 over Oklahoma State
*Alabama -11.0 over Boise State
*LSU favored over all three

Oddsmakers from BetOnline:
*Alabama -6.5 over Stanford
*Alabama -10.0 over Oklahoma State
*Alabama -10.5 over Boise State
*LSU favored over all three

“I have LSU the second best team in the country, all though very close with Stanford.  I don't think this is one of Boise's best teams.  They are plenty good, but I am comfortable with the numbers I gave you.  If I opened Bama -11.0 over them I would be willing to take a bet either way.  A bowl game might be a bit different.  More time for a very innovative coach to prepare plus time to heal any injuries.  In that case 11 might be a take.”
-Chris Andrews from Cal Neva

Legendary oddsmaker Jimmy Vacarro when asked how to compare this to other big games in regards to betting action: “Too many to remember. Usually there’s one a year that sticks out. There’s been great Michigan-Ohio St games and Oklahoma-Nebraska games, Auburn-Alabama, etc. This game will rival ANYTHING I’ve seen in the past 30-odd years.”
-Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book

“We just have Bama ranked so much higher than the other teams. That’s why we opened LSU +6.5 last Sunday. Our main college guy actually had it slightly over 8, obviously couldn’t open that high though. They are just so big and physical. O-line mauls people. D the best too. Stanford line is lowest mainly due to Luck.”
-Oddsmaker from BetOnline

“Even though we don't divulge dollar amounts, the action is 3-4x what we would see on some other games with two high ranked teams. The money is pretty significant and currently we are at 4.5 and our bettors continue to back LSU by a wide margin. We will not see action like this on a college football game until the major Bowl Games happen”
-Oddsmaker from Sports Interaction

All sports fans have opinions, but only bookmakers and professional bettors back their opinions with big money. Each week, the most famous names in Las Vegas sports betting provide Pregame.com with their private power rankings. These are the secret numbers that directly influence millions of dollars of action each week. VEGAS RANKINGS are calculated using a proprietary algorithm – generating the final word on what teams Vegas believes are truly the best, plus what teams are being incorrectly valued by the public’s losing bias.

*Read more on "Vegas Rankings"

Contributors:

Chris Andrews from Cal Neva: Las Vegas bookmaker at Cal Neva working directly with legendary oddsmaker Nick Bogdanovich. Cal Neva has 35 locations throughout Nevada, including the Las Vegas strip, Henderson, Mesquite, Reno, Sparks, Carson City, South Lake Tahoe, Jackpot, and Gardnerville. You can catch Chris on ESPN945.com and follow him on twitter at @andrewssports.

Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book: Legendary Las Vegas bookmaker and Director of Sports Operations and Public Relations. Lucky’s Race & Sports Book has 17 locations, including the Riviera Hotel & Casino, Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel, Plaza Hotel & Casino and Terrible's Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall and River Palms Resort Casino in Laughlin. Follow Jimmy V and Lucky’s on twitter at @JimmyVaccaro and @betatluckys.

Oddsmakers from BetOnline: BetOnline operates out of Panama City, Panama, which has been referred to as "the banking capital of Latin America". Panama is a reliable and secure business environment, providing a solid infrastructure, cutting-edge Internet bandwidth and a government that strictly regulates and monitors offshore gaming activity.

Oddsmakers from Sports Interaction: Sports Interaction, the first online sportsbook licensed and regulated in North America, has been the No 1 choice in the online gambling market for more than ten years. Sports Interaction is overseen and regulated by the Kanhawake Gaming Commission

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