Alabama vs. Tennessee Total Prediction
The No. 1 team in the nation, the Alabama Crimson Tide, hit the road Saturday to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at 3:30 p.m. ET. With Tua Tagovailoa nursing a knee injury, is the under the best bet in this SEC matchup?
Game Snapshot
335 Alabama Crimson Tide at 336 Tennessee Volunteers
3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 20, 2018
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Crimson Tide are 28.5-point favorites to beat the Volunteers. The total, meanwhile, sits at 57 points. As of this writing, 57% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Crimson Tide.
Alabama Crimson Tide
AL.com’s Michael Cassagrande passes along that Alabama sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa (knee) “looked fine” during Tuesday’s practice. Tagovailoa has been dealing with a slight knee issue over the past few weeks, but it’s not something that’s expected to prevent him from starting. Expect the sophomore star to be out there taking opening snaps against Tennessee on Saturday unless matters take an unexpected downturn.
Tennessee Volunteers
Per Pro Football Focus, Tennessee redshirt sophomore QB Jarrett Guarantano completed 18-of-25 passes for 255 yards when given a clean pocket in Saturday’s 30-24 win over Auburn. Guarantano also had nine touchdowns + first down throws and a 117.9 passer rating when given a clean pocket to work with. He had his best game of the season in the Vols upset win over Auburn but will now have to face Alabama at home. Guarantano will likely be hard-pressed to see similar success next week.
Betting Trends
Alabama
The over is 6-2 in the Crimson Tide’s last eight games overall.
Tennessee
The over is 6-2 in the Volunteers’ last eight conference games.
Prediction
The over is 4-0 in the last four meetings between these two teams in Knoxville and 5-1 in the last six meetings overall. If Tua is fine, then so will the Crimson Tide offense so no worries from ‘Bama in terms of scoring. And while Mizzou couldn’t take advantage of a banged-up Tide secondary a week ago in Tuscaloosa, the last time Nick Saban’s squad went on the road they allowed Arkansas to move the ball consistently on them. Thus, I trust that Tennessee will find ways to contribute to the over on Saturday as well.
College Football Prediction: Alabama/Tennessee over 57