Free NCAA Football Prediction: Tennessee vs. Alabama Odds
Looking for Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide free picks? College football betting sees the Volunteers taking on the Crimson Tide on Saturday, October 15th, 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 Volunteers Crimson Tide free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Tennessee Volunteers (5-0) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0)
Date: Saturday, October 15th, 2022
Time: 3:30 pm EST
Venue: Neyland Stadium
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: Volunteers +7 / Crimson Tide -7 (Bet Now!)
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Tennessee +208 / Alabama -265
NCAA Betting Total Odds: O/U 66.0
Week 7 of the college football season sees two undefeated SEC teams looking to make a statement. #3 Alabama at #6 Tennessee is the marquee matchup of the week.
Josh Heupel certainly had his detractors when he was hired as the coach at Tennessee. It was understandable — Tennessee has struggled for a long time to get it right. I even thought in some of their games, with the way they pushed scoring until the very end, Heupel was desperate to prove he was the right guy.
So far, how do you argue with that? They’re a perfect 5-0 and have three wins against ranked opponents, including a shellacking of LSU last week in Baton Rouge. Heupel will now be looking for a signature win, over Saban and the Alabama football complex.
Saban will go down as the best college coach of all time and I think one of the things he does better than almost any coach is getting his team to stay in the moment. It’s not just about preparation, it’s also about not panicking when things don’t go right.
Think about the Texas game this year. You can cite the referees, which definitely impacted the outcome, but Alabama stayed calm, cool and collected and ended up winning 20-19. That result goes a long way and will be leaned on as they enter a raucous environment against a rabid opponent.
Tennessee Volunteers
Hendon Hooker was a godsend to Tennessee when he decided to leave Virginia Tech. He’s been consistent all season for the Vols, averaging 286 yards a game and throwing for exactly two touchdowns in each contest. He’s even played turnover free football!
His leadership places Tennessee in the top-10 of the country in offensive success rate and second, behind only Ohio State, in points per game (46.8). Tempo is the name of the game for this offense. Only 5 teams are faster by seconds per play, something the Alabama defense will be ready for, but may tire as the game goes on.
Tennessee employs a two back rotation between Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small. Tennessee is highly successful when they run but now draw an Alabama squad that is 12th in defensive rushing success rate. The Vols have averaged 45 carries a game over the last two weeks, so I don’t expect them to break that formula this week.
Tennesee has shown some vulnerability to the harder parts of their schedule with allowing points. They beat a good Florida team in Knoxville but a few weeks ago, but needed 38 points to beat the 33 they gave up. Tennessee is an NSFW 113th in limiting rush explosiveness, while Alabama is the nation’s fourth most explosive rushing attack.
Alabama Crimson Tide
This is a strange Alabama team in the sense that they are highly dependent on the rushing attack. We’re used to seeing Alabama put multiple wide receivers in the first round of the NFL draft, but that is not this year.
Georgia Tech transfer, Jahmyr Gibbs is the most dynamic offensive player for the Tide. Beyond leading them in rushing, he’s nearly their top pass catcher as well. I mentioned the elite rush explosiveness, but they also have the ability to stay on schedule (32nd) when running. Even though they allow rush explosiveness, the Vols are 7th in defensive rushing success rate, something that will challenge Bama.
The pachyderm in the room is obviously, will Bryce Young play? As of yesterday, Saban was non-committal about his chances for playing Saturday, which is obviously something we’d like clarity on sooner rather than later.
If he can’t go, we’re looking at Jalen Milroe who struggled somewhat against TAMU. Even Saban’s comments were eye-raising, saying quote, “I think Jalen played with a lot of anxiety”. So we’ll be a little touch and go until we get more clarity, but we’ve got a good starter on team profiles.
Alabama has been ELITE at shutting down opponent third down conversion attempts (2nd), which is no doubt due to getting teams in long downs and distances, evidenced by their defensive success rate (9th). They’ve dominated the trenches, posting the 2nd highest stuff rate and coming in at 4th in defensive line yards. This Tennessee rushing attack that has stayed on schedule all year may meet their match.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Alabama is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- Alabama is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Tennessee
- Tennessee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tennessee’s last 5 games at home
4* Free Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide NCAA Betting Final Analysis:
We still really want to see if Bryce Young is going to play or not, but we’re looking at two teams who like to run the ball and are quite successful at it.
They also defend the run at elite marks, though Tennessee is highly liable to surrender some explosive plays in this contest.
The Tide have a complete and elite defense, ranking 2nd in SP+ rankings and also supplementing their run defense with a top-15 defensive passing success rate.
So, if you give me the better defense and the superior coach, I’ll gladly take that. Roll, Tide Roll.
4* Free Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide NCAA Betting Pick: Alabama -7
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Free Score Prediction: Volunteers 17 – Crimson Tide 31 (Bet Now!)If you’re looking for more picks like this Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide matchup we’ll be providing 4* free College football game predictions on the blog all season long, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free CFB Football picks!
Register here for a FREE NCAA Football Betting Account Now for Daily Free Picks & More Special Offers!
