Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Tennessee Volunteers Preview
Where: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville
When: Saturday, October 15, 3:30 PM ET
Line: Alabama Crimson Tide (-13) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (+13) – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
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Betting on the Alabama Crimson Tide (-13)
The Alabama Crimson Tide will head to their SEC showdown with Tennessee with momentum on their side after beating the Arkansas Razorbacks, 49-30, on Saturday. It was another impressive victory for the Crimson Tide, who improved their season-record to 6-0. They have won their first six games by an average of 29 points.
Key to Alabama’s hot start has been their incredible offense. The Tide are sixth in the FBS in scoring, averaging a whopping 44.8 points per game this season. Just like in their five previous victories, it was Jalen Hurts who stole the show for Alabama against Tennessee. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 253 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and ran for two more scores in the win against the Hogs. Hurts has accounted for eight total touchdowns in the Tide’s last three games.
For the Crimson Tide to preserve their unbeaten record against the Volunteers, they will need to quickly establish their ground game this coming Saturday. Alabama rushed for 264 yards in the win against Arkansas. Damien Harris was sensational in his return, rushing for 122 yards on 13 carries. The Tide will need that same kind of offensive balance for them to unlock a Tennessee defense that’s allowing 399.3 total yards per game this season, 65th in the entire FBS.
Alabama is 10-0 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in its last 10 road games. The Crimson Tide are pegged at +250 to win the national championship this season.
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (+13)
Tennessee’s playoff hopes were dealt a major blow on Saturday night when it suffered a gut-wrenching 45-38 double overtime loss to Texas A&M in College Station. Trevor Knight scored on a one-yard run in the second overtime to send the Volunteers crashing to their first defeat this season. It was a disappointing result for Tennessee who battled back from a gargantuan 21-point third-quarter deficit.
The main reason behind the Vols’ defeat was their unforgivable sloppy play. Tennessee turned the ball over seven times against Texas A&M. The Vols had six fumbles on Saturday and lost five of them. In addition to that, they yielded 12 penalties in the loss to the Aggies. They can ill afford a repeat of that display against an Alabama side that has already scored 10 non-offensive touchdowns this season.
That being said, the Vols will still fancy their chances against the reigning national champions as they have the talented Joshua Dobbs on their side for this weekend’s clash. He led the Tennessee offense to a whopping 684 yards on Saturday. Dobbs threw for 398 yards and a score and even caught a touchdown pass from Jauan Jennings. He is 29th in the FBS in total offense, averaging 292.8 yards per game this season. Dobbs will have his work cut out for him, however, against an Alabama side that is 12th in the FBS in total defense, allowing just 292.5 yards per game this campaign.
Tennessee is 9-1 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 home games. The Vols are pegged at +4,000 to win the national championship this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Alabama wins but Tennessee (+13) covers.
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