The Indiana Hoosiers haven’t won a bowl game in 28 years, so you could just imagine how locked in on beating the Tennessee Volunteers the Hoosiers are right now. As for the Volunteers, a win at the Gator Bowl will be another sign that the program is trending in the right direction. The sportsbook expects a close one, favoring Tennessee by just 1.5-points.
Betting on the Indiana Hoosiers (8-4 Overall / 5-4 Conference)
The Hoosiers ended the regular season on a high note, as they beat the Purdue Boilermakers on the road on Nov. 30, 44-41, via double-overtime route. Indiana is a pass-heavy squad that enters the Gator Bowl with an average of 308.7 passing yards per game — ranked second overall in the Big Ten conference. Much of their success in that area is due to the electric play of junior wide receiver Whop Philyor, who is fourth in the Big Ten with 1,001 receiving yards to go with five touchdown grabs. Indiana knows that Philyor is going to have a target on his back against Tennessee, so the Hoosiers will have to get their ground attack involved more. Indiana is averaging 137.3 rushing yards per game. That’s mostly a job for running back Stevie Scott, who has 845 rushing yards and 10 of the team’s 23 rushing scores on the season.
The Hoosiers are 6-4 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games overall.
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (7-5 Overall / 5-3 Conference)
It hasn’t been an ideal season for the Vols, but at least they are peaking just in time for the bowl season. After beating the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road, 28-10, on Nov. 30, the Volunteers have extended their winning streak to five games. The Commodores game, however, cost the Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings for the first half of the Gator Bowl after receiving a suspension for a personal foul he made against Vanderbilt. Jennings in Tennessee’s best wideout, leading the team with 942 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on the season. While he is out, Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer will be the top targets downfield by quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who has 1,937 passing yards and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions and a 59.3 pass completion percentage. The Vols are averaging 22.3 points and giving up 23.6 per outing.
Tennessee is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
