Opening Line: Alabama -13
Over/Under: 58

Time: 3:30 PM EST Saturday October 15, 2016 on CBS

Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (5-1)

This is a game that has been circled on the college football calendar since the beginning of the season, but this HUGE SEC match up lost a little luster with Tennessee losing their first game of the season this last Saturday. They are still ranked in the top 10, 9th, but if they lose this game to top-ranked Alabama their BCS title hopes are dashed.

The Tide are rolling, as they are undefeated and have put up at least 48 points in three of their last four games. They are loaded on both sides of the ball and rank 7th in the nation averaging 44.8 ppg and rank 11th only giving up an average of 15.8 ppg.

In their last game Alabama beat Arkansas 49-30 covering as a 14.5-point road favorite and the total going Over. Tennessee suffered their first loss last week falling to Texas A&M 45-38 in OT covering as a 7.5-point road underdog and the total going Over.

This season Alabama is 4-2 ATS with an O/U record of 3-3 and Tennessee is 3-3 ATS with an O/U record of 4-2.

Last season at Alabama the Crimson Tide narrowly avoided a major upset beating Tennessee 19-14, but they failed to cover the 15.5-point spread and the total went Under.

QB Jalen Hurts leads Alabama and he has been solid this season and only has two INT, one of which came last week in the win over Arkansas. Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart have combined for 737 receiving yards this season with seven TD and they will face off against a Tennessee pass defense that ranks 49th in the nation.

The Tide also have a great rushing offense with Damien Harris (478 yards 1 TD), Joshua Jacobs (307 yards 3 TD), and Hurts (296 yards 5 TD). Tennessee must play better run D than they did last week in the loss to Texas A&M where they gave up 353 yards on the ground.

Tennessee’s offense was unstoppable in the A&M game racking up a whopping 684 total yards, but they had seven turnovers and that killed them. QB Joshua Dobbs has put up good numbers and he has a balanced and deep WR corps, but he has to avoid the turnover, as he had two INT in the A&M loss and has five in his last three games. Jalen Hurd is the lead rusher with Dobbs the 2nd leading rusher, but they have a tall task in this game facing a Bama run defense that is the top-ranked unit in the nation.

Betting Trends

• Alabama is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games, 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall, and they have an Under record of 5-1 in their last 6 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.
• Tennessee is 7-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record, 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up loss, and they have an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 games.
• Alabama is 8-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games against Tennessee.
• Alabama is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games against Tennessee.

Alabama Crimson Tide at Tennessee Volunteers Free Pick

The Vols have fallen behind in every game excluded their game against lowly Ohio. That’s not a good spot to be in against a top defensive club like the Crimson Tide. However, Alabama did get lit up for 43 points at Ole Miss, but arguably they have a superior offense to that of Tennessee and the lack of ability to stop the run has us laying the big number.

Take the Alabama Crimson Tide -13