NCAAF College Football Week Seven free tips: Crimson Tide can roll to victory

When to watch

Alabama at Texas A&M: BT Sport ESPN 8.30pm Saturday
Penn State at Iowa: BT Sport ESPN 12.30am Saturday night

Week Seven picks

Alabama -16
2pts 5-6 Sky Bet
Penn State -3
2pts 5-6 Sky Bet

Alabama Crimson Tide at Texas A&M Aggies preview

Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked first in the nation, roll into College Station as 16.5-point favourites to face the 24th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, in their biggest test of the season so far.

Led by Heisman Trophy front-runner Tua Tagovailoa’s 23 passing touchdowns and zero interceptions, Bama have won their opening five games by an average margin of 37 points.

They should stamp their authority on the game and showcase their National Championship credentials.

We’re accustomed to seeing Alabama’s defence stout against both run and pass, but uncharacteristically they have looked vulnerable against the run at times this season.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, their rushing attack has been non-existent this season, compounded by the loss of starting running back Jashaun Corbin during their Week Two loss to Clemson.

With a limited ground game, the onus has been on dual-threat quarterback Kellen Mond to lead his side to victory, which he has done in three of their five games this season.

The two losses on A&M’s record have come against ranked sides Clemson and Auburn, but a key takeaway from each of those losses was Mond’s inability to run the ball - he recorded just one rushing yard against Clemson and 26 against Auburn.

Mond’s average yards per passing attempt also dropped off in those two games against top defensive units, to 6.3 yards, and that won’t be enough to trouble Alabama, whose passing defence has allowed just 190.6 yards per game and 5.4 yards per attempt.

Alabama’s offence around Tua is loaded, with four NFL-bound wide receivers, and an average 174.4 yards per game on the ground, it’s no surprise they have scored 42 points or more in each of their five games this season.

It’s hard to imagine Alabama won’t get close to that total once more, and with questions over Texas A&M’s offence Alabama should have enough firepower to pull away.

Penn State Nittany Lions at Iowa Hawkeyes preview

Penn State failed to score 52 points or more as predicted against Purdue last week, but don't give up on the Nittany Lions just yet.

After racing to a 28-0 lead in the first 16 minutes of the game, over-ambitious play-calling and errors on special teams saw Penn State register only another seven points as they eased to a 35-7 victory.

Both defences are closely matched, with Penn State second-ranked in points allowed per game with 7.4 and Iowa third-ranked with 8.8, so we’re unlikely to see a shootout at Kinnick Stadium.

The biggest disparity is on offence. Iowa have struggled against better opposition this season, scoring three points last week against a Michigan defence allowing an average of 16 points and just 18 against rivals Iowa State, who have allowed an average of 22 points per game.

When a 35-point performance is viewed as a disappointing total, it tells you just how good Penn State's offence is. They have averaged 47 points a game, good enough for the fifth-best average in the nation.

While they face a much tougher defence this week, Penn State could cut it loose at some stage, and as it is difficult to see Iowa racking up points against the second-ranked defence, it’s worth siding with the Nittany Lions and their explosive offence to cover the handicap.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport