Alabama vs Tennessee Picks and Odds: Vegas Expects Tide to Roll on Rocky Top

Alabama vs Tennessee Picks and Odds Preview: This SEC Showdown will be one on top of most college football betting cards. NCAAF spread services show the Tide as a large road favorite.

The game is overshadowed by the arrest of Volunteers starting safety Jaylen McCollough. This isn’t anything new to a program that is back in the national spotlight but has paid the price with its third arrest since August. McCollough the Vol’s leading tackler is accused of jumping a man who accidentally went back to the wrong apartment after going to his car. From a gambling standpoint, these are the kind of things that can affect an entire team.

Crimson Tide Survives Another Scare

Continuing Our Alabama vs Tennessee Picks and Odds Preview: Alabama will be happy to put the state of Texas behind them for the season after getting the best of another close game against a Texas school. Last week, the Aggies were one late completion away from handing the Tide a loss, Nick Saban’s team walked away with a 24-20 win to retain their top spot on top of the polls.

Back in September, Alabama slid by the Texas Longhorns, 20-19. Alabama was without starting quarterback Bryce Young who couldn’t play Saturday after injuring his shoulder against Arkansas. Betting on this game comes down to whether you think Jalen Milroe will be behind center or the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Since 2015, Alabama is 60-45 ATS (57.14%) +1164 units. Only four other teams (Navy, Washington State, Oklahoma State, and UAB) are better against the number over the last six seasons.

Many Questions to Be Answered for Volunteers

Josh Heupel’s team has covered four of their five-games this season, but games against Florida (38-33), and Pittsburgh (34-27, OT) could have easily pushed the Volunteers to a 3-2 start. They own the nation’s top offense with 548 yards per game, but this will be the first time Tennessee will be an underdog all season.

Off the field, Tennessee has to answer a lot of questions regarding an incident involving captain Jaylen McCollough. On the field, plenty of questions remain for a sixth-ranked team that many believe is not ready for such high praise.

Josh Heupel’s team has covered four of their five-games this season, but games against Florida (38-33), and Pittsburgh (34-27, OT) could have easily pushed the Volunteers to a 3-2 start. They own the nation’s top offense with 548 yards per game, but this will be the first time Tennessee will be an underdog all season.

Coming into the season, the Vols were just 38-43 (-1706 units) ATS since 2016. At Neyland Stadium, the Volunteers brought a 14-27 ATS mark into the year, and just 4-12 ATS as a home dog. You would have to go back to the 2006-2007 season to find the last time the Volunteers put up back-to-back profitable seasons as a home dog (9-24 ATS, -1559 units as a home dog since 2008-2009).

Dramatic Pointspread Change From Summer Opener

The Crimson Tide opened as a 14.5-pt favorite over the Summer but after the Volunteers’ undefeated start, there was a dramatic shift leaving the Tide a 7.5-pt favorite, leaving a huge middle opportunity. The betting public is all over Tennessee with 89% of the early tickets coming in on Rocky Top. That will all change during the week because we expect Young to start at quarterback for the Tide.

Concluding Our Alabama vs Tennessee Picks and Odds Preview: The loss of McCollough, who may be dismissed from the team, will be a massive loss in their secondary.

To conclude our Alabama and Tennessee betting preview, our official recommendation is to take the Crimson Tide no matter who is at quarterback. Alabama has covered five of the last six head-to-head meetings and 12-4 ATS since 2006. In addition, Alabama has covered six of its last seven meetings at Neyland Stadium. Bet on the Tide securing their #1 spot with a double-digit win.

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• NCAA SEC Roundup: After Wild Offseason, Alabama-Texas A&M Game Has Arrived
• NCAA ACC Roundup: Florida State Has a Tough Road Trip to NC State
• NCAA Big Ten Roundup: Michigan, Ohio State Expected to Keep on Keeping On