Week 3 college football predictions from a tested algorithm for Alabama vs. USF odds, spread, time, and line in 2023 picks

 The Alabama Crimson Tide will start Tyler Buchner at quarterback for Saturday's game between the South Florida Bulls and the Crimson Tide, according to SportsLine's CFB selections, predictions, and best bets.

On Saturday, a non-conference matchup between the South Florida Bulls and the No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide will take place. The game will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, where Alabama won the sole prior meeting between the two programs in 2003. After losing to Texas 34-24 a week ago, Alabama is 1-1 this season. In 2022, the Crimson Tide were 11-2. Under new head coach Alex Golesh, USF is also 1-0 to start the 2023 campaign, including a convincing victory over Florida A&M last week. After Jalen Milroe started the first two games of the season, Alabama will reportedly turn to Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner for the quarterback position.

The Crimson Tide are 34-point favorites according to the SportsLine consensus for this 3:30 p.m. ET start. According to the most recent Alabama vs. South Florida odds, the total number of points Vegas anticipates to be scored, or the over/under, is 61. Prior to selecting any USF vs. Alabama bets,

10,000 simulations of every FBS college football game are performed by the SportsLine Projection Model. Since its start, the exclusive computer model's top college football choices against the spread have produced a remarkable profit of approximately $2,500 for $100 bettors. Anyone who has adopted the concept has experienced significant gains.

The model has now unveiled its picks and predictions for the upcoming Alabama vs. USF matchup. To view the model's CFB predictions, go to SportsLine right away. For USF vs. Alabama, consider these odds and trends in college football:

* South Florida vs. Alabama betting line: Alabama -34

* Over/under for Alabama vs. South Florida is 61 points.

* Money line for Alabama vs. South Florida is Alabama -10000, and USF is +2500.

* Alabama: Since the beginning of 2022, the Crimson Tide are 7-7-1 against the spread.

* USF: Since the beginning of 2022, the Bulls are 5-9 against the spread.

*Picks for Alabama vs. South Florida are available at SportsLine.

* Live streaming of Alabama vs. South Florida is available at fubo.

Alabama's ability to cover

The Crimson Tide are taking on a South Florida team that has recently struggled despite having a lengthy history of being a top-tier program in college football. The Bulls defeated Florida A&M last week, but South Florida has lost 17 straight games to FBS opposition. In the 35 games it has played against FBS schools, USF is just 1-34, and the Bulls' defense in 2022 was perhaps the worst in the nation. Last season, the Bulls allowed the most total yards (516.6 per game) of any FBS team, while USF allowed 41.2 points per game. 

In 2022, opponents completed 73% of their throw attempts, averaging 9.0 yards, and USF gave up 6.1 yards per rush attempt. The Bulls have allowed an average of 8.6 yards per pass attempt and 355.0 passing yards per game so far in 2023, which creates room for Buchner to succeed in his debut start. The Crimson Tide have an intriguing X-factor on special teams, and Alabama regularly brings players of the highest caliber to the table. Alabama leads FBS with 50.3 net yards per punt this year, and the Crimson Tide are athletic and deep across the board.

With eight touchdowns in all in two games, quarterback Byrum Brown leads the offense and the AAC as a whole. Brown leads a team that is averaging 31.0 points per game in 2023 and is No. 2 in the AAC with 183 running yards this season. Alabama gave up 454 yards to Texas last week. South Florida leads the AAC with 241.0 running yards per game, good for well over 400 total yards per game. In that defeat, the Crimson Tide also made 10 costly mistakes and allowed the Longhorns to average 9.2 yards per pass attempt. Choose your team by viewing this.

How to make choices for Alabama vs. USF

The teams are expected to score a total of 73 points, according to SportsLine's model, which favors the Over. The model also indicates that in roughly 60% of simulations, one side of the spread hits.