Potential Alabama-Kentucky rematch in SEC title game would result in ridiculous point spread
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Alabama and Kentucky have already met once this season in Tuscaloosa, with the Tide walking out of the game a 34-6 victor. As the calendar turns to November, it’s not completely unrealistic the two could meet yet again this season in Atlanta, as undefeated Alabama currently sits atop the West standings and Kentucky sits in the No. 2 spot in the East.
In order for this to happen, Kentucky would need to win its final two league games (vs. Georgia and at Tennessee) and get some help from Florida (likely losses at Arkansas and at LSU) to make the dream season a reality. It’s a longshot at this point but the fact that it remains an option this late in the year after UK got off to a 0-2 start is a credit to the job Mark Stoops has done this season in Lexington.
Putting aside the unlikelihood of the Atlanta rematch of a moment, if the two were to meet once again this season, just how big of a mismatch would the game be?
According to iconic oddsmaker Danny Sheridan, the line would be around 30 points in favor of Alabama:
Cole, they were 37.5 in Tuscaloosa Oct. 1(scored 2 FGs) & figure to be around 30 if that long shot rematch occurred. Danny
— Danny Sheridan (@DannySheridan1) October 30, 2016
If that line is accurate, it would nearly equal the last two SEC title game spreads combined! Alabama was a 17-point favorite against Florida in 2015 and a 14-point favorite over Missouri in 2014 – the Tide beat the Gators by a score of 29-15 and the Tigers by a score of 42-13 in those games.
If we do indeed get the rematch in Atlanta, the anticlimactic title game would simply epitomize the level of separation between the East and West that we have seen to this point of the 2016 season. The last time an East team won in Atlanta was in 2008, when Florida defeated Alabama 31-20.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
