– Last Updated on December 22, 2022 3:19 pm
Free Outback Bowl Prediction: Wildcats vs Volunteers Odds
College football betting on the 2016 Outback Bowl sees the Northwestern Wildcats taking on the Tennessee Volunteers Friday, January 1st at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions.
2016 Outback Bowl
Northwestern Wildcats (10-2) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (8-4)
Date: Friday, January 1st
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
NCAA Football Spread: Tennessee -8
NCAA Betting Total: 45
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For Today
Bet Now!Click here to view… CFB ATS Stats & Expert NCAAF Betting Insight!
The Northwestern Wildcats will look to win 11 games for the first time in their school’s history and they will try to win the third bowl game in their school’s history.
[dfads params=’groups=220&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Volunteers are looking at a win here at the Outback Bowl to give themselves some momentum heading into next year.
Northwestern
The Northwestern Wildcats are a nice story. They are a scrappy team with a bunch of 2 star recruits that won 10 games this year. It’s a great story, but they aren’t a great team.
Northwestern has a lot of heart and they will show up to play, but they lack the talent to beat good teams.
I give them all the credit for beating the Stanford Cardinal, but that was way back in early September where the Cardinal just didn’t show up during an early morning game.
[dfads params=’groups=226&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
Other than that, Northwestern’s resume is very thin. They didn’t play Ohio State or Michigan State, but when they played the other two good teams in the Big Ten in Michigan and Iowa they got stomped out.
Michigan shut them out 38-0 and Iowa put up 40 points on them while only allowing 10 points.
How is Northwestern going to move the ball on the Volunteers? How are they going to score points?
Northwestern was 115th in college football in total offense and 84th in total points. Tennessee isn’t a great defensive team, but their is a sizeable gap in talent between Tennessee and Northwestern.
Tennessee
The Tennessee Volunteers are knocking on the door and coming closer to reaching that next level. Tennessee lost four games this year, but all four games were close.
The Volunteers’ losing margin in those four games was 17 points that is an average of 4.25. Realistically, Tennessee is a couple of plays away from winning the SEC East.
[dfads params=’groups=219&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
Joshua Dobbs is a duel-threat quarterback that can do it all. Dobbs ran for 9 rushing touchdowns and threw for 15 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions.
If he comes back next year, and I see no reason why he wouldn’t, Tennessee is going to be very good next year. The Volunteers will be one of the favorites to come out of the SEC next year.
Halfback Jalen Hurd is only a sophomore and he’ll be back next year leading the charge in the backfield. Hurd will improve upon 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns next year at this time.
The Volunteers are talented offensively and they are solid enough defensively to keep the inept Wildcat offense off the field.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Tennessee is 5-2 ATS in their last seven games
- Northwestern is 4-1 ATS in their last five games
Free 2016 Outback Bowl NCAA Football Prediction
Northwestern simply hasn’t faced enough good teams and when they did play good teams, they got blown out of the water.
Tennessee is a young, up-and-coming team, so I’m not worried about them not showing up. Tennessee wants to win and I believe they will quite easily.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Tennessee -8 ATS
I just can’t envision anyway Northwestern keeps it close. Their offense just won’t be able to move the ball and even if they do contain the Volunteer offense early, they will gas late and the Volunteers will have their way.
Outback Bowl Free Score Prediction: Tennessee 31 – Northwestern 9
We’ll be providing 4* free College football predictions on the blog all season long, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free CFB Football picks!
CappersPicks.com has College football odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NCAA football lines up for early games as well.