Tennessee Volunteers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Odds, Football Betting Pick

As they do with almost all their SEC rivals, the Alabama Crimson Tide own the recent rivalry with the Tennessee Volunteers, winning the last 10 meetings outright and going 7-3 against the spread.

But the Tide are giving a lot of points for Saturday afternoon's game against the Volunteers in Tuscaloosa.

College football point spread: The Crimson Tide opened as 33-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 52.8-16.8 Crimson Tide (College football picks on every game)

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Why the Tennessee Volunteers can cover the spread

Tennessee started this season well enough, with three wins in four outings, the only loss coming on a broken coverage Hail Mary at Florida. The Vols are now trying to bounce back after consecutive defeats, including a tough 15-9 decision to South Carolina last week.

Tennessee led the Gamecocks 9-3 well into the third quarter, fell down by a score, then drove to the South Carolina 2-yard line late. But three straight incompletions spelled the end.

The Vols only managed 253 yards of total offense but held South Carolina to 323. Unfortunately, Tennessee also came up totally empty on third-down conversions, going 0-for-10.

The Volunteers are struggling offensively this season, searching for consistent play at quarterback, but they've given some decent defensive efforts. Another one Saturday, with some help from the running game, could keep them close.

Why the Alabama Crimson Tide can cover the spread

Alabama ran its SEC winning streak to 21 games last week with a 41-9 victory over Arkansas. The Tide took a 7-0 lead 15 seconds into the game on Damien Harris' 75-yard touchdown bolt, bumped that to 24-0 at the half and 41-3 midway through the fourth quarter. But they gave up a meaningless Razorbacks touchdown with three minutes left, on a fourth down no less, and missed ATS as 36-point favorites.

On the evening, Alabama outgained the Hogs 496-227 and outrushed them 308-27. So the Tide has now outgained and outrushed every opponent this season, most by huge margins.

During Alabama's conference winning streak, nine of those victories have come by 28 points or more and five by 35 or more.

Smart pick

The Crimson Tide are only 1-3 ATS at home this season because they've been favored by so much. And still there's little reason to take the points here. Tennessee has serious quarterback problems, and its defense is giving up 240 yards per game on the ground. Smart money here bets Alabama and just hopes they don't take their foot off the gas.

College football betting trends

Tennessee is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games against Alabama.

The total has gone over in four of Tennessee's last five games against Alabama.

Tennessee is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games on the road after consecutive home games.

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.