Free NCAA Football Prediction: Kentucky vs. Tennessee Odds
Looking for Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers free picks? College football betting sees the Wildcats taking on the Volunteers on Saturday, October 29th, 2022, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football game predictions like this Wildcats Volunteers free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Kentucky Wildcats (5-2) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (7-0)
Date: Saturday, October 29th, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm EST
Venue: Neyland Stadium
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: Wildcats +12 / Volunteers -12 (Bet Now!)
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Wildcats +350 / Volunteers -430
NCAA Betting Total Odds: 61
A highly anticipated battle in the SEC East will take place on Saturday evening when Tennessee plays host to Kentucky in week 9 of college football.
In past seasons, this would have been just two average teams from the same division facing off, but that is far from the case in 2022.
The Wildcats have been solid all season long and check in at #19 in the rankings and the Vols have been spectacular so far and are currently the #3 ranked team in the country.
Mark Stoops and his Kentucky crew will look to use the underdog label as some extra motivation when they look to pull off a big upset in a hostile environment on Saturday.
Tennessee will hope to keep up what they have been doing all season long while the Cats will look to get back on track after they dropped to South Carolina in a low-scoring game. In a spot like this, they are hoping the bye week will serve them well.
Kentucky Wildcats
After not being able to play two weeks ago against South Carolina, Will Levis is back and ready to try and lead his team to a huge victory over one of the best teams in the nation on Saturday.
Not that one player can change everything for a team, but it was very clear that this program really missed their starting quarterback in the 24-14 loss to the Gamecocks with the offense looking lifeless for the majority of the game.
Despite not being able to score a ton, one area of their game that was impressive in their last game was the running game, as Chris Rodriguez ran it 22 times for 126 yards.
That kind of success on the ground paired with the explosiveness that Levis brings to the offense could really help Kentucky out in a game like this. It has been well-documented the struggles the Vols have had on defense, so UK really has to take advantage of that in the way they attack their opponent.
The problem that they ran into when facing South Carolina is the offense was too one-dimensional. It was great that their best offensive weapon ran for all those yards, but Kaiya Sheron was just not explosive enough with his throwing that it really did not matter.
It goes without saying, but if Kentucky is going to have a real shot at this game, Levis is going to have to step up in a very big way, especially when you look at how explosive the offense is on the other sideline.
I am not saying he has to match Hendon Hooker pass for pass, but it is going to have to be somewhat comparable. Getting buried early by a team like Tennessee on the road is going to make it very hard to come back no matter who you have as the quarterback.
Defensively, this team has been strong all season long and it has been one of their main strengths. No team has really been able to slow down the offense for the Vols, so they will look to be the first when they have to face this potent attack.
Aside from Georgia, I do not feel there is any other defense that can really stop Tennessee on offense, but Kentucky still has to have the ability to at least contain them. It might not be totally reflective in the number of points they allow, but if they are able to limit some of the bigger plays, then I do feel they can keep things competitive.
Just based on how they are built, I am sure the Wildcats would like their chances more if the game turned into a rock fight, but the chances of that seem very unlikely. To me, it makes it hard to see Kentucky coming out on top if this turns into a shootout because they just do not have the same firepower that their opponent does on that side of the ball.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee followed up their epic 52-49 win over Alabama with a nice tune-up victory against TN-Martin by a score of 65-24.
It was hard to really take much from that game given the talent gap, but they still did what they had to do against a team that was so clearly overmatched.
Hendon Hooker once again had a strong game, as he finished the day going 18/24 for 276 yards with 3 touchdown passes. He also did a nice job of spreading the ball out to his variety of weapons with two receivers tallying over 100 yards.
It might seem hard to be critical in a 41-point blowout, but I still did not totally love the way their defense played and that is something that will have to be better when facing Kentucky.
Look, there are plenty of times when it is acceptable to allow a team to score 24 points, but one of them is not when facing off with the Skyhawks. I know a lot of the scoring came later in the game, but that is not exactly a great sign for a defense that has had plenty of struggles in 2022.
The Vols are certainly talented enough to knock off a team like the Wildcats, but there is no doubt that their offense does present some issues for a defense that has been vulnerable this season.
If the Cats are really rolling, they will be able to get healthy does of chunk plays from Rodriguez on the ground to go along with Levis finding some of his weapons through the air for big gains. The balance that they have on that side of the field should be a concern for the home team here.
There is always a possibility that the defense steps up for the Volunteers in this game, but I do not see that being the reason they get the job done. If they pick up this victory, I feel it will be because their offense is just too much for the opponent to handle like it has been all season long.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Kentucky is 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games.
- Kentucky is 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games in October.
- Kentucky is 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Tennessee is 8-17 ATS in their last 25 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.
- Tennessee is 9-24 ATS in their last 33 games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Tennessee is 7-22 ATS in their last 29 games following a straight-up win of more than 20 points.
4* Kentucky vs. Tennessee NCAA Betting Final Analysis:
Based on talent alone, Kentucky is not as good as Tennessee, but I do not see this being a game where the moment is too big for them to handle.
I expect this to be a matchup where the Wildcats are competitive, mainly because I feel their style of offense has the ability to expose some of the weaknesses of the Tennessee defense.
We have heard how good the defense is for Kentucky, but I still feel they are going to have their hands full when trying to stop Hooker and his cast of playmakers for the full game.
In the end, I see the Vols being too much for their opponent to handle in what likely shapes out to be a high-scoring game.
Still, the 12 points are too much for me to lay with the home team in a spot like this.
4* Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers NCAA Betting Pick: Wildcats +12
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