Music City Bowl Betting: Nebraska vs. Tennessee Odds, Analysis and Pick

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are 2-1 outright in their last three bowl games and 3-0 against the spread after upsetting UCLA last bowl season. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Volunteers are 2-0 both SU and ATS in their last two bowls—both blowout victories over Big Ten teams. The Vols will meet another Big Ten outfit when they take on the Cornhuskers in the Music City Bowl on Friday afternoon in Nashville.

Music City Bowl point spread: The Volunteers opened as three-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via OddsShark computer: 33.0-28.2, Cornhuskers (College football picks on every game)

Why Nebraska can cover the spread

Nebraska started 7-0 this year, averaging 34.1 points per game and going 4-2-1 ATS. The Cornhuskers then lost in overtime at eventual Big Ten West champion Wisconsin and followed that up with a bad performance at Ohio State. But they rebounded to win their next two games before ending the season with a loss at Iowa. As a result, Nebraska is playing in a bowl for the ninth year in a row.

The Cornhuskers laid an egg in the loss to the Hawkeyes, but prior to that, they had outgained and outrushed six of their previous eight opponents.

Nebraska's starting quarterback, Tommy Armstrong Jr., is doubtful for this bowl because of a sore hamstring. However, backup Ryker Fyfe did a good job in his only start of this season, a Week 12 victory over Maryland, hitting on 23 of 37 throws for 220 yards and a touchdown without an interception.

Why Tennessee can cover the spread

Carrying high hopes coming into this season, Tennessee started 5-0, with four wins over teams that either tied for first place in their conferences this year or played in their conference championship games. But three straight losses, one in overtime at Texas A&M and another against College Football Playoff-bound Alabama, brought the Vols down to earth.

Tennessee then won three games in a row, putting up 55 points on Tennessee Tech, 49 on Kentucky and 63 on Missouri, before falling at Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale. As a result, the Vols are playing in a bowl for the third year in a row.

On the season, Tennessee averaged a nicely balanced 437.3 yards per game of offense—203.2 on the ground and 234.1 through the air.

Smart pick

The Volunteers own the advantage on offense, and they get to play this bowl in their home state. But Nebraska owns the advantage on defense. If the Cornhuskers can run the ball and get some decent play from Fyfe, they could grind out a cover and perhaps even an upset at online betting sites.

Betting trends

The total has gone over in Tennessee's last eight games against teams with winning records.

The total has gone under in 11 of Nebraska's last 15 games in the postseason.

Nebraska is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games in December.

All college football lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.