TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Dating to a season-opening 34-24 victory over Virginia Tech in 2009, Alabama's record is 49-5.

Not a bad sign of the Crimson Tide's dominance in the past four seasons.

But here's a bigger, bettor sign: Alabama has been favored in 41 consecutive games.

Make that 42.

The opening line came out Tuesday for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Aug. 31 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

It isn't a surprise that the Crimson Tide is favored over Virginia Tech. The Hokies are coming off a 7-6 season. Alabama seeks a third consecutive national championship.

But the margin by which Alabama is favored is staggering.

Alabama opened as a 22-point favored.

Because of some early action, that line already has moved. It seems 22 points wasn't enough. Now the Tide is favored by 22½ points, according to 5dimes.eu.

It isn't the biggest line for an Alabama opener since Nick Saban became the head coach in 2007. That's because the Tide hasn't always opened against a team from a BCS conference (or even a FBS conference).

Here's a review of Alabama's openers in the Saban era:

2007:

2008:

2009:

2010:

2011:

2012:

2013:

Alabama has not been an underdog since the 2009 SEC Championship Game. Florida was favored by 4½ points, but Alabama won 32-13. The Tide was favored by 3½ in its next game and defeated Texas 37-21 in the BCS Championship Game. Alabama has been favored ever since.