2017 Week 2 College Football Picks & Predictions – Alabama vs Florida State Odds & Free Pick 9/2/17

2017 Week 2 College Football Picks & Predictions – Alabama vs Florida State Odds & Free Pick 9/2/17: The 2017 College Football has arrived and today we look at the premier game everyone is higly anticipating involving two likely top 5 preseason teams hook up when Alabama plays Florida State from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, September 2nd. Let’s take a closer look at this exciting college football game to kick off the season for these two teams in week 2 along with our expert free college football picks on who will cover the spread in this game. You can keep yourself updated on the LIVE line movements on the FSU vs Alabama showdown and all the college football games all season long by bookmarking our college football betting odds page that includes LIVE odds from 6 top online USA betting sites and Las Vegas sportsbooks(Wynn and MGM).

2017 Week 2 College Football Picks & Predictions – Alabama vs Florida State Odds & Free Pick 9/2/17

Game: Alabama vs Florida State
Line: Alabama -7 at Bovada Sportsbook
Total: Over/Under 49 points at Bovada
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA
Time: 8 PM EST
Date: Saturday, September 2nd, 2017

This game is one of the best non-conference clashes to kick off the season on Labor day weekend in a long time. A lot of credit needs to go to Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher for having the guts to play a game like this early in the season with so much on the line. Alabama and Florida State almost certainly will come into this game ranked in the preseason top 5 when the first national polls come out in early August and this game also has importance as the SEC and ACC are battling for the label of best college football conference in the nation.

Alabama returns 12 starters from last year’s 14-1 squad that ran the table until they lose the National Championship Game to Clemson 35-31. Bama will be loaded again this season and sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts should be much improved with the experience he has now under his belt plus the addition of new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Daboll comes to Bama from the New England Patriots and he knows a thing or two about quarterbacks after seeing how Tom Brady practices and performs for many years. Hurts should be able to make the adjustments necessary to become a better passer and elevate an Alabama offense to one of the more feared units in all of college football. Alabama averaged 38.8 points per game to finish 16th nationally last season and should be better this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama will once again field one of the most dominant units in all of college football. Bama finished with the top overall defensive unit last season giving up just 13 points per game and 261.8 yards per game. Saban has to feel good about this year’s defensive unit as 6 starters return and a never ending supply of former 4 and 5 star high school recruits look to make a name for themselves on the 2 deep depth chart this season either as true freshman, redshirt freshman or improved sophomores. The unit is loaded with talent headlined by 4 players who could make 1st team ALL SEC in junior nose guard Da’Ron Payne, senior linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, junior cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick and junior safety Ronnie Harrison.

Florida State enters the 2017 season with legit National Title expectations as 14 starters are back from last year’s team that finished 10-3 overall and closed on a 5 game winning streak. FSU’s title hopes will rest on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois who should be much improved this season after having a solid freshman season. Francois threw for 3350 yards and 20 touchdowns last season but should be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation this season and be a Heisman Trophy contender. Francois will need to improve his completion percentage that was just 58.9 percent last season but all reports indicate that the FSU coaching staff has liked what they have seen from Francois in the offseason and they expect him to really raise his game to the next level. FSU averaged 35.1 points per game to finish 31st nationally last season and should be among the top 10 this season.

FSU’s defense is where the Noles should see the most improvement this season over last year. FSU returns 9 starters from a unit that gave up 25 points per game to finish 44th nationally and 349.1 yards per game to end up 22nd nationally last season. FSU has the talent on their 2 deep roster to be a top 10 defensive unit this season and that will make the difference on whether FSU is a true National Title contender at season’s end or just another very good team that is a year away from running with the big dogs. FSU’s defense is headlined by a strong secondary that includes two players who should be 1st team ALL SEC in junior cornerback Tavarus McFadden and sophomore free safety Derwin James.

Alabama vs Florida State Free Pick and Score Prediction: Alabama to cover the -7 spread and win the game by a 37-27 score.

Bet on the Alabama vs Florida State game at Bovada Sportsbook