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College football’s number one team travels to Tennessee in an SEC battle on 10/20/18 as the Alabama Crimson Tide face the Tennessee Volunteers at the Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Crimson Tide enter this game with an undefeated record of 7-0 and the top ranking in College Football. On the other hand, the Tennessee Volunteers are 3-3 but are coming off a huge win over Auburn last week.
The Top Team In The Nation
The Alabama Crimson Tide asserted their ranking as the top team in the nation with a rather easy 39-10 beating of the Missouri Tigers last week. However, the bigger story in that match was Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa leaving the game with a leg injury. Good thing for Alabama, the injury doesn’t look serious and Tagovailoa was scheduled to practice on Monday although his status is still listed as “probable”.
Aside from their high powered offense, Alabama also has the seventh best defense in college football, giving up just 15.1 points per game. The Crimson Tide have allowed more than 14 points just twice this season and if the Volunteers are still in a hangover from their win over Auburn, this could turn to a massacre very quickly, with or without Tagovailoa.
Alabama vs Tennessee 10/20/18
Moneyline Odds: Not Available As of Writing Date
Odds from Sportsbetting.ag as of 10/18/18
Biggest Win In Jeremy Pruitt Era
It has been a tough year for the Tennessee Volunteers They fired head coach Butch Jones last year and had a nightmarish experience in their subsequent coaching search. Finally, they settled on Jeremy Pruitt but his tenure was off to a rough start with blowout losses to West Virginia, Florida and Georgia.
Take away that win though and the Volunteers have only been a middling team on both ends of the field this season. Tennessee ranks 84th in the country in scoring at 26.7 points per game while allowing 25.3 points per game on defense which is tied for 64th in the league. Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano has thrown for 1,129 yards with six touchdowns and two pickoffs while completing 64% of his passes.
Who Wins?
The Crimson Tide are 9-0 SU in their last 9 games and an impressive 20-1 SU in their last 21 games on the road. On the other hand, the Tennessee Volunteers are 4-10 SU in their last 14 games and 2-4 SU in their last 6 games played at home. Alabama has won the last 11 games against Tennessee including the last 5 games played on Tennessee’s home field.
Alabama is now 7-0 on the season after their 39-10 beat down of Missouri in Week 7. The Crimson Tide have literally obliterated their opponents, outscoring them 375-106 this season. They are 2-0 on the road this season with wins over Ole Miss (62-7) and Arkansas (65-31). Alabama is 16-1 SU in their last 16 road games with their only loss coming at the hands of Auburn in last year’s Iron Bowl. We can go on and on and on about Alabama and there’s nothing Tennessee can do about it.
Whether Tua Tagovailoa plays or not, it won’t matter for Alabama. Well, perhaps it would against a tougher foe but not the Volunteers. Tennessee is coming off the biggest win in the Jeremy Pruitt era but I think Alabama is too good to lose here.
We’re picking Alabama to beat Tennessee on 10/20/18. However, because the Crimson Tide are heavy favorites here, they should come in at a “heavy” price once the moneyline odds are released. So let’s take a look at the other bets for this game.
Other Bets To Make
Surprisingly, Alabama is 2-4-1 ATS in their last 7 games on the road. But they are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games versus Tennessee and an even better 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games against the Volunteers on the road. On the other hand, Tennessee is 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games and only 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games at their home field.
Alabama vs Tennessee 10/20/18
Spread Odds: Alabama -28.5 (-115), Tennessee +28.5 (-105)
Odds from Sportsbetting.ag as of 10/18/18
Let me repeat, the Crimson Tide are 7-0 SU this season and have blown away their opposition by an aggregate score of 375-106. They have won by an average winning margin of 38.43 points per game. Only one of ‘Bama’s wins have come by less than 28 points and that was their 45-23 victory over then #22 ranked Texas A&M. Tennessee isn’t Texas A&M, not at all. It’s worth noting though that during Alabama’s 11 game win streak against Tennessee, the average winning margin is 24.55. I like the Crimson Tide to cover the spread.
Prediction: Alabama -28.5
The total is 6-2 in Alabama’s last six games and also over in five out of the last six games between the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers. Similarly, the over is 4-1 in Alabama’s last five road games against Tennessee. The total has gone over in 7 out of the Volunteers’ last 10 SEC games.
Alabama vs Tennessee 10/20/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 57 -110, Under 57 -110
Odds from Sportsbetting.ag as of 10/18/18
The trends point to the over and I believe that isn’t a hard case to make here. Alabama leads the nation in scoring at 53.6 points per game so you don’t really have to ask the Volunteers to score a bunch to beat the total. The total has gone over in six out of Alabama’s last eight games and the average total score in those games is 66.25. We don’t need rocket science here.
Prediction: Over 57
The moneyline odds aren’t out yet but we don’t expect them to be juicy at all because the Volunteers are massive 28.5 point dogs here. Between the Crimson Tide covering the spread and the total going over, the latter is currently priced better at -110. Personally, that’s my bet because Alabama is going to score those points no matter the result. Well of course, they’ve been winning but the spread’s at 28.5 so, I’ll take the total here.
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