Tennessee Volunteers vs. Florida Gators Odds, College Football Betting Pick

Florida beat rival Tennessee 11 times in a row from 2005-15, going 8-3 against the spread in the process. But the Volunteers rallied last year in Knoxville to halt that skid. In a huge early-season showdown in the SEC East, the Vols shoot for two in a row against the Gators Saturday afternoon at the Swamp.

College football point spread: The Gators opened as eight-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 22.0-14.4 Volunteers (College football picks on every game)

Why the Tennessee Volunteers can cover the spread

Tennessee followed up its thrilling season-opening win over Georgia Tech with a 42-7 victory over Indiana State last Saturday. The Vols took a 7-0 lead when freshman Ty Chandler returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, pushed that advantage to 28-0 at the half and eased home from there, although they couldn't quite cover as 37-point favorites.

Tennessee outgained the Sycamores 395-215. Junior quarterback Quinten Dormady, replacing the departed Josh Dobbs, connected on 13 of 18 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and running back John Kelly produced 140 yards from scrimmage. Meanwhile, the Volunteers defense held Indiana State to 0-of-11 on third-down conversions.

Why the Florida Gators can cover the spread

Florida is probably itching to get back on the field. The Gators opened this season two weeks ago with that 33-17 loss to Michigan and had last week off as Hurricane Irma forced the cancellation of a home game against Northern Colorado.

Florida led 17-13 at the half against the Wolverines thanks to a pair of pick-sixes. But a short-handed offense went cold in the second half, and a late fumble in the end zone created a slightly misleading final score.

The Gators played that game without both last year's leading rusher and receiver, as Jordan Scarlett and Antonio Callaway served team suspensions. It's unclear if they'll play this week.

Smart pick

Florida owned this rivalry for more than a decade, but perhaps the worm has turned. The Gators led 21-0 in last year's game at Neyland Stadium, but the Vols awoke and scored 38 unanswered points on their way to a 38-28 victory. This season it appears Florida's offensive woes have continued, and for a team that can't score, covering might be tough. The smart money on the college football point spreads here takes Tennessee.

College football betting trends

The total has gone over in six of Tennessee's last seven games against Florida.

Florida is 3-1 ATS in its last four games at home.

Tennessee is 1-4 ATS in its last five games in Week 3.

All college football odds 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.