Tennessee Volunteers vs. Oklahoma Sooners Betting Odds: Analysis and Prediction

The Oklahoma Sooners have not had much trouble beating their last six opponents, but they have struggled against teams from the SEC heading into Saturday’s home game against the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Sooners have gone just 1-7 against the spread in their last eight games against SEC opponents, and that includes a 45-31 win against Alabama back in January in the Sugar Bowl.

Point Spread

Sooners opened as 21-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report can be found here.)

Why the Tennessee Volunteers Can Cover the Spread

The Volunteers look to be a much-improved team this year, and the only thing keeping them from being 2-0 against the spread is a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Arkansas State last week in their 34-19 victory.

Tennessee led 31-12 at the end of the third quarter and also had a 24-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter the previous week in a 38-7 win over Utah State. Both games went under the total, and the Vols will need to play a similar low-scoring, defensive game against Oklahoma in order to improve to 2-1 ATS.

That may not be an issue, considering six of the last eight games for the Sooners against SEC teams have gone under the total.

Why the Oklahoma Sooners Can Cover the Spread

Oklahoma is on a mission to make it to the four-team playoff for a shot at the national championship. The best way to accomplish that is to win as many games as possible by as many points as possible against quality opponents.

Tennessee may not be the cream of the crop in the SEC, but the Volunteers represent a bigger test than the previous two opponents for the Sooners this season.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops seems like he is going all-out against the opposition this year, as his team out-gained Tulsa 580-328 in total yardage last week in a 52-7 home victory, easily covering the 24-point spread, which is bad news for Tennessee here.

Smart Pick

Offense has been the name of the game for the Sooners, who have scored more than 40 points in six of their last seven games. Oklahoma is 5-2 ATS during that stretch, and you can bet Stoops will do everything he can to make sure this meeting with the Vols is played at a similar pace.

The over is 10-3 in Tennessee’s last 13 games as a road underdog, which shows the team struggles more defensively in that situation.

The over is also 4-1 in the past five games as home favorites for the Sooners, who should be able to impose their will and get the cover.

Trends

• Tennessee 1-4 ATS last five games as road underdog
• Oklahoma 1-7 ATS last eight games vs. SEC
• OVER 10-3 in Tennessee’s last 13 games as road underdog

Note: All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered first-hand unless otherwise noted—check out Twitter for injury updates and line move updates and get the free odds tracker app.