The Crimson Tide have gotten through the fluff portion of the schedule and will embark upon its SEC slate starting Saturday in Nashville. With eight conference games in 10 weeks and two byes upcoming — let’s not kid ourselves, Mercer is essentially a bye before the Iron Bowl — it would be a massive shock if Alabama was not a heavy favorite in each remaining regular season game.

The only question is, how much will Alabama be favored by in each game?

There’s no one better to ask than USA TODAY handicapper Danny Sheridan. During his Wednesday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, Sheridan gave his best estimates for the point spreads in each of the Tide’s upcoming SEC contests.

Of note, the line is already out for the Alabama-Vanderbilt game, and the Tide are favored by 18.5 points on the road.

As for the rest of the SEC slate, here’s how many points Sheridan predicts the Tide to be favored by this season in each conference game:

  • “13 over LSU”
  • “27 over Arkansas”
  • “24 over Ole Miss”
  • “24 over Tennessee”
  • “Mississippi State on the road, 14, maybe 10 if Mississippi State upsets Georgia and continues to play unbelievable.”
  • “A&M 15”
  • “And Auburn, the only reason they would be 7 at this stage, Alabama, and I think you would agree with this Paul, could have the SEC West sewed up and looking ahead to the SEC Championship Game. An 11-1 Alabama with a win in the SEC Championship Game puts them where they want to be.”

While Alabama may currently own the SEC, giving many ammunition against the quality of the league overall, Sheridan disagreed with that logic during his appearance on the show. The handicapper still believes the SEC is the best conference in the country.

“The SEC from top to bottom is clearly the toughest conference in the country,” Sheridan said. “There’s no comparison. You have teams, maybe with the exception of Missouri, that can beat the top dogs. Teams like Vanderbilt can. You don’t have that in the Big Ten, you don’t have that in the ACC, and you don’t have that in the Pac-12. The dregs of their conference couldn’t beat a high school team.”