Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

Kroger Field, Lexington, KY

Streaming:ABC

Kentucky +10½ -110 over Alabama

3:30 PM EST. Alabama did what Alabama does last week. The Tide buried East Carolina 48-10, Keelon Russell looked like the next great Alabama quarterback and suddenly we're right back to discussing the Tide as though another championship run is inevitable. Maybe it is. But we're not being asked whether Alabama is better than Kentucky. Of course they are. We're being asked whether they're more than 10 points better in Lexington. That's an entirely different proposition, and we'll gladly take the inflated number with the Wildcats.

Kentucky isn't showing up here with a pop-gun offense, either. Kenny Minchey threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns in his Wildcats debut, and while Youngstown State obviously isn't Alabama, the significance is that Kentucky may finally have a quarterback capable of making the opponent defend the entire field. Add C.J. Baxter to the backfield and there's enough here to prevent Alabama from simply suffocating Kentucky for four quarters. We don't need Minchey to outplay Russell. We need Kentucky to generate enough offense to stay within shouting distance, and getting 10½ at home gives us plenty of room to work with.

Alabama is also taking a substantial step up from East Carolina while going on the road for the first time, and that's where this gets interesting. Russell was outstanding in the opener, but he's still a young quarterback making his first SEC road start in an environment that should be considerably less comfortable. Alabama is also dealing with some shuffling on the offensive line. None of that means the Tide suddenly aren't extremely talented. It simply means we're not interested in paying a premium for perfection after watching them dismantle an opponent they were expected to dismantle.

The Alabama name still carries enormous weight at the betting window, and a 38-point opening victory only adds gasoline to it. Kentucky doesn't need to produce some historic upset for us to cash this ticket. That's the beauty of the spread. Alabama can be the superior team, Russell can be terrific and the Tide can walk out of Lexington 2-0 while Kentucky still gets the money. We'll take the improving home team, the double digits and that extremely valuable hook.

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