College Football Odds & Game Preview for Week 3: Tennessee at Florida 

We get a big SEC East matchup early in the season as the Tennessee Volunteers head south to take on the Florida Gators who are still emerging from the mess that Hurricane Irma left all over the Sunshine State. Tennessee needed overtime to escape Georgia Tech in Week One but then delivered a 42-7 beating of Indiana State in their second game. Florida fell to Michigan in their opener and then had last week’s home game against Northern Colorado canceled because of the storms. Can Florida get its offense together enough to knock off Tennessee? The last time the teams met, Tennessee beat the Gators up in Knoxville, 38-28, in 2016. Check out our college football betting recommendations on the renewal of this classic rivalry.

College Football Odds & Game Preview for Week 3: Tennessee at Florida

Home style.#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/QKh1d6AAi1

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 13, 2017

When: Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 3:30 PM ET Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida TV: CBS Radio: FM 99.1 (Tennessee) / FM 103.7 (Florida) Live Stream: WatchESPN College Football Odds: Florida -5.5

Series History

• Total Meetings: 46
• First Meeting: October 28th, 1916. Tampa, Florida
• Last Meeting: September 24th, 2016. Knoxville, Tennessee
• All-Time Series: Florida 26-20-0
• Largest Margin of Victory: Tennesse 45-3- (1990)
• Longest Win Streak: Florida 11 (2005-2015)
• Current Win Streak: Tennesee 1 (2016)

Latest College Football Odds Trends

• Tennessee is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
• Tennessee is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tennessee’s last 5 games on the road
• Florida is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games at home
• Florida is 15-4 SU in its last 19 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Florida’s last 8 games

Why Should You Bet on the Volunteers?

Quinten Dormady has played well at quarterback for Tennessee in the first two games; he has put up 415 combined yards in the first two contests, throwing four touchdown passes against just a single interception. Tailback John Kelly leads the Vols in rushing with 208 yards on 37 carries, and he’s found the end zone four times. He also leads the team with 10 receptions, picking up 95 yards on catches. Marquez Callaway leads the team in passing yardage with 152 yards and three scores so far. But what about the defense? The reason that Tennessee had to go to overtime against Georgia Tech is that they simply could not stop the Yellow Jackets’ option running game. Georgia Tech kept alternating between pounding the ball up the middle or taking the ball out wide, giving the Tennessee defense fits. If the Gators paid close attention to the film, they should be able to find ways to use their running game to keep the Volunteers on their heels as well — and if they can do that and bring more defense than Georgia Tech did, then they have an excellent shot at winning this game.

Team Statistics

Offense:

• Average Score For: 42
• Total Yards: 379
• Rush Yards: 154
• Passing Yards: 228

Defense:

• Average Score Against: 24
• Total Yards: 434
• Rush Yards: 328
• Passing Yards: 106

Why should you put your money on the Gators?

When Florida and Michigan went to the locker room for halftime in Week One, the Gators had a 17-13 lead on Michigan’s home field. However, Michigan made the right adjustments in the second half and outscored the Gators, 20-0 to take the win. The Gators’ defense was stout, bringing two interceptions back to the house for touchdowns. However, the problems for Florida came on offense, as they only scored a single field goal. On the day, they only gained 192 yards and picked up nine first downs, and they committed three turnovers of their own. The Gators still need to settle on a quarterback. Feleipe Franks started the game, going 5 for 9 for 75 yards. Graduate transfer Malik Zaire came on to go 9 for 17 for 106 yards; neither quarterback was especially effective, but it would have been a challenge for any signal-caller to do well as the Gators’ offensive line failed to provide any sort of pass protection all game long. The running game didn’t do much better, as the Gators ran 27 running plays — and picked up just 11 rushing yards. If the Gators’ offense doesn’t get any production against Tennessee, this could be a long afternoon for the hosts.

Team Statistics

Offense:

• Average Score For: 17
• Total Yards: 192
• Rush Yards: 11
• Passing Yards: 181

Defense:

• Average Score Against: 33
• Total Yards: 433
• Rush Yards: 215
• Passing Yards: 218

College Football Odds Pick and Final Score Prediction

The Gators have historically had solid defenses for the past four or five years, with the struggles coming on offense. As Michigan showed, though, you don’t have to have the best passing game to beat Florida. I see the Volunteers doing enough on defense to limit the Gators’ scoring while breaking through the Florida defense. I predict a final score of Tennessee 27, Florida 17.