Tennessee football is headed to Tuscaloosa next Saturday to play Alabama. With both teams coming off hard-fought SEC wins, Vegas has slightly adjusted the spread. The Vols are now 8.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel.
This is a one-point swing in the favor of Tennessee since Friday, when FanDuel had the Vols as 9.5-point underdogs. Since then, Tennessee held on to win 34-31 at home against Arkansas. Alabama went on the road and defeated Missouri 27-24.
FanDuel lists 88% of the money and 79% of bets being placed on the Vols’ covering at this point. So far, the Vols have covered in three out of five games while the Tide have in four of five.
In terms of the moneyline, Tennessee sits at +250 to win outright and Alabama is at -315. The over/under point total is set at 59.5 points, a three-point drop from last week. The Vols’ games have gone over in all five, while the Tide’s have in three.
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So far, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is 2-2 against Alabama, but has never won in Tuscaloosa. In 2021, his team stuck around early in his first year, but Nick Saban’s squad pulled away late. In 2023, Saban’s final season, the Vols took an early lead but forfeited it in the second half.
At home, Heupel is 2-0. He won in a shootout in 2022 and behind a strong defense in 2024. The win a year ago makes him 1-0 against Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.
Tennessee’s test this year will be in stopping a Crimson Tide offense that’s rolling. Ty Simpson seems to be hitting his stride at quarterback with a trio of elite receivers. The run game is also off to a strong start, but it remains to be seen if star back Jam Miller will be good to go.
