Tennessee Volunteers at No. 1 Florida Gators Preview and Pick

NCAA Football Betting Preview
Tennessee Volunteers at No. 1 Florida Gators
The Swamp Saturday September 19th, 3:30PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – Florida -29.5, 51.5 O/U

The number 1 ranked Florida Gators host a big SEC showdown this Saturday afternoon when Lane Kiffin’s Tennessee Volunteers come rolling into town. There has been a lot of animosity building mainly between the coaching staffs and there will be no love lost when these two teams square off this weekend. Kiffin claimed the Volunteers would be beating the Gators in just 2 years as a recruiting sell and with other harsh words directed towards Urban Meyer anticipation is at a boiling point. However, the Florida Gators are not exactly the team you want to get fired up.

The reigning National Champions may be the best team in the nation on both sides of the football and have won their first two games over weaker opponents by a combined 118-9. Florida has tremendous weapons to put up loads of points and shut down the best of offenses. Which raises the question, why would the Volunteers being trying to give them extra motivation. Tennessee is coming off a disappointing loss to UCLA 19-15. The Vols were 11 point favorites entering the contest, but quarterback Jonathan Crompton threw 5 interceptions in the game to lead to their demise. One thing that may be certain is the Volunteers offense will have to be much better this week and put up more points than they have all year to upset Florida at The Swamp.

Tennessee has a very difficult task ahead of them in trying to score the most difficult of upsets. The Volunteers woes on offense are a big reason they are huge 29.5 underdogs during the contest. The huge underdog margin is perhaps one of the biggest gaps in school history considering they have a tradition of SEC and National Titles to their resume. Coach Lane Kiffin is a young fiery soul who seems to be the perfect fit to turn the program around after a few year’s of mediocrity behind former coach Phil Fulmer. The Volunteers biggest strength this season lies on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary especially may be among the best in the SEC and that is something to be proud considering the talented defenses the conference houses. Strong safety Eric Berry is a big playmaker as well, but still the entire unit faces their biggest challenge of stopping former Heisman quarterback Tim Tebow and the Gators offense this weekend.

Florida is a scoring machine that has been firing on all cylinders for some time. Tebow has yet to play a full 60 minutes since Florida has flat blown out everyone in the first half this season. WR Riley Cooper has emerged as the biggest playmaker at wide out for the receiving core. The receivers were a bit of a concern heading into this season with some young talent. However, this is not ordinary young talent and these guys can play football. Cooper leads the bunch with 10 catches for 187 yards and expect him to be targeted frequently this weekend. Still, Florida is just as impressive in their running game. The Gators have numerous backs like Jeffrey Demps, Chris Rainey, and Emmanuel Moody who can make plays all over the field. Of course, Tim Tebow is pretty good too.

However, the defense will likely be more difficult to take down than the offense. Not only will Tennessee have to score points to keep pace with the Florida offense, but they will have to do it against the best defense in the country. Even Kiffin claimed the Gators defense “could be the best ever.” Florida returned all 11 starters from their dynamic unit that shutdown every offense in America last year and that is the main reason they are such big favorites to repeat as National Champions. Tennessee faces their biggest challenge of the year when they line up across these 11 superstars this Saturday. The question is will the Tennessee offense be effective and will they be able to keep it within 29?

Pick – Many might disagree, but I believe Florida will be extra motivated and they will win ATS. However, an even safer pick maybe the over 51.5

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