Free Week 9 Prediction: Volunteers vs Wildcats Odds
Looking for Tennessee Volunteers vs. Kentucky Wildcats free picks? Week 9 betting sees the Volunteers taking on the Wildcats Saturday October 28th at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this Tennessee Kentucky free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 9
(3-4) Tennessee Volunteers vs. Kentucky Wildcats (5-2)
Date: Saturday, October 28th
Time: 7:30 pm EST
Venue: Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky
NCAA Football Spread: Kentucky -5.5
NCAA Betting Total: 46.5
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Butch Jones very likely could be coaching for his job this weekend while the Volunteers are playing with the chance to go to a bowl game in serious jeopardy.
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Kentucky quietly has gotten off to a 5-2 start and with Ole Miss and Vandy on the schedule following Tennessee, the Wildcats will look to get something going here after last week’s blowout loss to Mississippi State.
Tennessee Volunteers
The Volunteers are 3-4 and coming off a 45-7 defeat at the hands of Alabama last week. Jones has been said to be on the hot seat for a number of weeks now and this game could be the last straw if the Vols were to lose.
The Vols are 0-4 in conference play, their only win over a Power 5 team was Georgia Tech – a game they easily should have lost, and they barely survived UMass at home as a 28 point favorite.
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This very likely could be the make or break game for Jones. After Kentucky, they have 3 home games and their lone road game is at Missouri. So a win here could help them get things rolling towards a strong finish and a bowl bid.
But Tennessee has their issues on both sides of the ball. They have inconsistent quarterback play from Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Quarantano. Quarantano is the starter now but he is averaging just 3.98 yards per attempt.
The lone bright spot on offense has been running back John Kelly who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has 6 touchdowns.
Defensively, the Vols have been very good against the pass but have struggled mightily against the run. They are allowing 247 rushing yards per game at 5.4 yards per carry – 124th and 115th in the nation respectively.
They are getting after the quarterback though – sacking the opposing QB on 9.46% of pass plays which ranks 8th in the nation.
They will have to hope their run game and pass rush can disrupt Kentucky’s rhythm because those are the only two strengths of this Tennessee football team.
Kentucky Wildcats
At 5-2, the Wildcats are nearing a definitive chance at playing in a bowl game. They will have Ole Miss next weekend before road games at Vanderbilt and Georgia before finishing the season hosting rival Louisville. So Kentucky will hope to secure a bowl bid as soon as possible with those closing three games presenting quite the challenge.
Kentucky is 5-2 despite having a negative scoring margin. They are averaging 24.6 points per game while giving up 24.7 points per game.
They have been outgained by an average of 57 yards per game but do possess the 31st best turnover margin in the nation.
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The turnover margin is the only explanation for their 5-2 record because the other stats don’t point to it.
They have a win over South Carolina that looks nice but wins over Southern Miss, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, and Missouri aren’t worth a whole lot.
To exploit the weak Tennessee rush defense, they will rely mostly on Benny Snell Jr who has 541 rushing yards on the season and 6 touchdowns. He has been inconsistent though with 3 games over 100 yards rushing but also 3 games with less than 67.
This game will come down to if Kentucky can force a few turnovers or not. They don’t have the explosiveness of other teams but will capitalize on a short field.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Tennessee is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
- Kentucky is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
- Under is 6-2 in Kentucky’s last 8 games overall.
- Under is 5-1 in Tennessee’s last 6 games overall.
Free Week 9 NCAA Football Pick
Kentucky has not played as a strong as their record shows and have used turnovers to make up for their negative scoring margin. Tennessee averages only 1.5 giveaways per game so they could be careful enough with the football to limit Kentucky’s success.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Tennessee +5.5
The run games for both teams here are the key as neither team is strong throwing the football and both teams will be conservative in their approach. I think Kelly is the much more consistent runner and the Vols are playing for their lives right now. An upset is brewing here and Butch Jones could survive another week.
Week 9 Free Score Prediction: Tennessee 20 – Kentucky 19
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