Tennessee at Florida Line

Written by Jack Jones

The No. 16 Florida Gators host the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC opener for both teams Saturday. Each has opened the season 2-0 and will be looking to continue their torrid starts. Florida has won six straight meetings with Tennessee, including a 31-17 road victory last year. Will the Volunteers be able to put up a fight down in The Swamp?

According to the Week 3 college football odds, Florida is a 9.5-point home favorite with a total set of 50.5 points.

Florida

Few teams have looked as promising as the Gators through the first two weeks of the season. Florida took care of Florida Atlantic 41-3 in their opener, and followed that up with a shutout of UAB 39-0 last week. They have given up the fewest points in the country to this point. Quarterback John Brantley has been pretty solid, completing 33 of 49 passes for 424 yards and one touchdown. He has thrown two interceptions, though.

Chris Rainey has been the focal point of an offense that is directed by new coordinator, Charlie Weis. Rainey has rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 7.3/carry. He also leads the team in receiving, catching nine passes for 110 yards and a score. Jeff Demps has been electric in the early going, gaining 115 yards on only 14 carries (8.2/rush) with two touchdowns. Caleb Sturgis has connected aon all five of his field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder.

Tennessee

The Volunteers won their final four games of the regular season last year to get to a bowl game. They have picked up right where they left off, crushing Montana 42-16 in their opener and looking impressive in a 45-23 victory over Cincinnati last week. Many felt that the Bearcats would upset the Vols, but Tennessee would have none of it. QB Tyler Bray threw for a career-high 405 yards and four touchdowns, also rushing for a score in the win. In two games, Bray is 51 of 65 passing (78.5%) for 698 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions.

Tauren Poole has been a load in the running game, rushing for 199 yards and a touchdown on 45 carries. Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers are showing that they are two of the premier receivers in the SEC. Hunter has 16 receptions for 302 yards and two touchdowns, while Rogers has caught 15 balls for 200 yards and three scores. The offense is hitting on all cylinders, but the defense will certainly have to be better this week if Tennessee is to pull off the upset.

Betting Trends

The Gators have been a very safe bet over the last several years, going 37-18 ATS in their last 55 games overall. They haven’t fared well recently against good teams, though, going 1-5 ATS in their last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.

The Volunteers are 4-17-2 ATS in their last 23 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0, including 3-14-1 ATS in their last 18 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0. Tennessee does ride a 6-1-1 ATS run overall into this one.

The Gators are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 meetings with Tennessee. The road team has gone 7-3-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings.

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