The No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (9-2, 5-2 SEC) meet the Vanderbilt Commodores (5-6, 2-5) Saturday at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
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The Volunteers tumbled to No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings with a stunning 63-38 loss at South Carolina last weekend. It was costly, too, as Heisman hopeful QB Hendon Hooker suffered a torn ACL and was lost for the remainder of the season.
Tennessee will turn to QB Joe Milton III to take over for Hooker. He has completed 69.7% of his pass attempts for 573 yards, 6 TDs and 0 INT, while running for 72 yards in limited action, but the former Michigan recruit is more than capable.
Vanderbilt stunned Florida last week in the Music City, positioning itself for bowl eligibility if it can run it back and pull a second consecutive upset. That’s pretty impressive for a team which had a total of 2.5 wins for its total in the futures market to begin the season.
The Commodores also have questions at quarterback, as Vandy has listed QBs AJ Swann and Mike Wright as co-starters, a little gamesmanship before the big game. Swann has been battling a nagging undisclosed injury for most of November.
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Tennessee at Vanderbilt odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:53 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Tennessee -525 (bet $525 to win $100) | Vanderbilt +390 (bet $100 to win $390)
- Against the spread: Tennessee -14 (-109) | Vanderbilt +14 (-111)
- Over/Under (O/U): 63.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Tennessee at Vanderbilt picks and predictions
Prediction
Tennessee 34, Vanderbilt 25
Moneyline
It might be tempting to take Vanderbilt (+390) for a chance to nearly quadruple your initial wager, especially with bowl eligibility on the line in a rivalry game.
However, Tennessee is still plenty explosive without Hooker under center. Milton is more than capable of leading this offense, and the Vols have the skill position players to take advantage of a Vandy squad allowing 34.2 PPG, which is 119th overall in the nation.
AVOID.
Against the spread
VANDERBILT +14 (-111) will not make it easy for Tennessee, and the Commodores’ offense has shown some signs of life in the second half of the season. How Vandy beat Florida last week, considering how the Gators looked in their rivalry game at Florida State Friday, is a mystery.
That’s the danger here, though. Tennessee should be able to win, but Vandy actually looks like an FBS-caliber team again after years of dread. Coach Clark Lea has the ‘Dores headed in the right direction.
Over/Under
Play UNDER 63.5 (-110), but it’s only worth a half-unit wager.
The Over is 13-4 in the past 17 games overall for Tennessee dating back to last season while cashing in 8 of its last 11 SEC games. The Over is also 7-0 in the past 7 games following a straight-up loss, while hitting in 5 of the past 7 head-to-head games with Vandy.
The Under has cashed in 4 of the past 5 for Vanderbilt, however, while going 4-1 in the past 5 conference tilts, too.
With some QB issues for both teams, expect the offenses perhaps to be slightly disjointed, at least to start.
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