San Jose State at Alabama College Football Picks

Fresh off winning last season’s BCS championship, the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide are ready to begin their quest for a second straight title Saturday night when the San Jose State Spartans come to town. Alabama won’t have the services of Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram, but college football lines makers are still expecting a blowout. They have listed Alabama as a 37.5-point favorite with the total set at 51.5.

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Ingram will miss the opener after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, but he could return to action as soon as next week. If he does make a quick recovery, his absence figures to affect his chances of winning a second Heisman more than it does Alabama repeating as national champs.

While Ingram did rush for a school-record 1,658 yards last season, backup Trent Richardson, who was also picked to the preseason first-team SEC squad, is more than capable of picking up the slack. Richardson rushed for 751 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and he picked up 109 of those yards in an impressive performance in the national championship game against Texas.

Alabama’s offense, which ranked No. 4 in the SEC in scoring last season (32.1 points per game), was overshadowed by the league’s best defense in 2009. But this year’s offense should give the defense a run for its money.

Quarterback Greg McElroy is a winner, and I couldn’t be more literal when I say that. The kid has not lost a football games since he was an eighth-grader. And with teams loading up to slow down the run, a healthy Julio Jones appears poised for a big season.

The glue is an offensive line that isn’t expected to miss a beat.

Alabama’s defense lost a lot of player’s from last season’s championship squad, but the guys getting the most action in 2010 aren’t spring chickens. The starting defensive unit is expected to include eight juniors and seniors and three sophomores.

The Tide have star power at every level of the defense. Marcell Dareus is one of this year’s top NFL defensive end prospects. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower is considered to be one of the premier players at his position in the SEC, and he should be hungrier than ever after missing most of 2009 with a knee injury. Safety Mark Baron is one of the best defensive backs in the entire country.

The Tide are taking on a San Jose State team that finished just 2-10 last year, but they won’t cover this number if they get caught looking ahead to Penn State next week.

The Spartans are just 13-23 the past three years, and they were picked to finish last in the Western Athletic Conference by the coaches and the media in the preseason polls.

While San Jose State is giving up a lot in the talent department, coach Mike MacIntyre’s boys should be better prepared to face elite opponents than they were a season ago. The first-year coach is known for his rigorous conditioning, which allows his teams to play the entire game at full speed.

Unfortunately, an already shorthanded squad saw three key players leave the team this offseason. Safety Tanner Burns, who led the teams in tackles last season; wide receiver Marquis Avery, who was the team’s second-leading receiver; and Tyler Cope, last season’s starting kicker; have all moved on.

It is reported that we could at least five players playing both ways.

This seems like a lot of points to lay, but my early lean is to take Alabama -37.5. The Tide may be without their Heisman Trophy winner, but they can still beat the Spartans as bad as they want to.  USC beat them 56-3 in last year’s opener, and this one figures to be ugly too.

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