All, I am not familiar with the area, however we are thinking about leaving in the morning from Roddi (near Alba) for our flight out of Malpensa. Our flight leaves Malpensa at 12:35, but we will have to do a car drop off. We are thinking that if we leave at 7AM that should give us plenty of time to do the 1:45 drive, drop off the car, and get to our flight. This drive will be in mid-May on a Sunday (so no rush hour traffic).

I know the general wisdom is to stay somewhere closer, but we are hesitant to "waste" a day/night. Thoughts?

I don't ever do this. I'd be hesitant to "miss a flight." You'll probably be fine, but.....

I did this and it was ok, but there are some reportedly nice hotels near good eating near Malpensa....

Google Maps estimates this drive could take between 1:40 and 2:10 hours on a Sunday morning departing at 7:00 a.m. I never accept the fastest Google estimate as realistic and always add 15-20%, which would probably mean close to 2:10 hours. Then, dropping off a rental car is sometimes quick and sometimes not, so I factor a "worst case scenario" amount of time for the process. The rest is luck.

I'm a scaredy-cat, and I admit it. I'd spend the night closer to the airport.

A couple years ago we left Alba around 9:00 am and dropped off our rental at Malpensa (no problems) well before noon (on a Saturday). We actually spent the night at a hotel near Malpensa (our flight was at 10:45 the next morning). Unless you’re really risk-averse, I’d be inclined to drive direct the morning of the flight, particularly since you envision leaving Alba at 7:00 am and your flight is a bit after noon. I’d imagine you’d be at your gate by 11:00 am. Obviously your call.

I would do it, those roads are no probllem. Just be disciplined - settle your bill the night before and make a reminder list the night before for the sleepy morning you. Research the gasoline options near Malpensa on Sunday and familiarize yourself with getting gas at a closed Italian gas station using the cash self-service machine.

the last 3 times I wanted to rank around malpensa the stations had signs saying that either the cards reader was defect or the tank sir self service was defect. Since they add 30 cents a litre to be serviced I drive additional 15 min to find a correct tank station.
I am a curmudgeon.

Filling the rental near an airport might be my least favorite part of our trip.

We decided to stay an extra night near Alba and will drive to Malpensa on our departure date. Thank you for the comments. Should this be a massive fail I will report back.