The No. 25 Florida Gators (-4.5) are heading north to take on their SEC rival Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN and kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Volunteers
In this Saturday Southeastern matchup, Florida is projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 4.5 points. If they want to take the moneyline, bettors would currently have to spend $200 in order to net $100 back on the Gators (-200). The Volunteers are getting +170 moneyline odds. If one squad can catch a lucky break early it’ll create a decent in-game betting opportunity. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 49 points.
Sharp bettors are siding with the Vols, as the line opened at 5.5. The O/U has not changed after it was set initially at 49.
The less-than-stellar Gators are down 6.0 units so far in 2018 and 2-1 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 0-2.
The Volunteers are down 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 1-2 ATS and have an O/U record of 1-2.
The Gators are 2-1 straight up (SU), including 0-1 SU against conference opponents. The Volunteers are 2-1 SU overall and 0-0 SU in conference play.
The Gators are coming off a resounding 48-10 victory over Colorado State last week. Feleipe Franks completed just eight-of-15 passes for 119 yards, two scores and one interception. Franks (25 rushing yards on seven attempts) also led the ground attack in the win. Van Jefferson (two receptions, 62 yards, one TD) and Jordan Scarlett (two catches, 14 yards) handled the receiving duties.
Tennessee just put together a 24-0 win over UTEP. The allowed the Miners to tally 39 yards through the air and 95 more on the ground. Quardraiz Wadley had a good showing in the loss for UTEP, accounting for zero yards on zero catch. For Tennessee, Jarrett Guarantano completed 12-of-16 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown. Tim Jordan (49 yards on 13 rush attempts, one TD) and Ty Chandler (158 yards on 12 carries, one TD) spearheaded the ground game in the win while Brandon Johnson (four receptions, 51 yards) and Jauan Jennings (three catches, 22 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack.
Florida’s run the ball on 54.8 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Tennessee has a rush percentage of 68.8 percent. The Gators have rushed for 185.0 yards/game and have three touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Vols are putting up 221.3 rushing yards per game and have eight total rush TDs.
The Gators offense has tallied 197.3 yards/game in the air overall and has nine passing TDs so far. The Vols have put up 187.7 pass yards per contest and have three total pass scores.
Defensively, Florida appears to have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to run for an average of 198.3 yards and throw for 131.3 yards per game. The Tennessee defense has given up 179.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 112.7 yards per game on the ground. The Gators are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.78 to opponents, while the Vols have given up a 5.81 ANY/A.
Offensively, Franks is up to 338 passing yards this season. The signal-caller has connected on 62 percent of his 39 attempts with seven scores through the air and only one interception. He has a 10.75 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 5.79 over the past two games.
Jarrett Guarantano has managed to complete 31-of-41 passes for 340 yards, two TDs and zero INTs for Tennessee. His ANY/A sits at 7.93 for the season and 10.06 across his past two outings.
When these two teams faced each other last year, Florida won by two field goals 26-20.
Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers NCAA Pick
SU Winner: Tennessee, ATS Winner: Tennessee, O/U: Over
