Alabama vs Tennessee Picks: Week 8 Best Bets for Saturday 10/19

NCAAF lines have Alabama favored at -3 to beat the Volunteers as both teams look to find their rhythm in what has been a strange year.

The Crimson Tide should prove tough to beat despite their last two games being some of the worst football they have played in the last 10 years.

Alabama vs Tennessee Game Information

• Game: Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1 SEC) at Tennessee Volunteers (5-1, 2-1)
• Date/Time: Oct. 19, 3:30pm. ET
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.
• Alabama vs Tennessee Live Stream: ABC

Alabama vs Tennessee Odds and Spreads

Alabama vs Tennessee Betting Keys

Backing Bama to Rebuild

We see the Week 8 game as a chance to rebuild for Alabama, which has looked increasingly poor over the last two weeks with a loss to Vanderbilt and a narrow win over South Carolina.

We expected college football odds to have the Crimson Tide favored to beat Tennessee, given the Volunteers’ recent poor form as well. However, if the Tide don’t play up to their high standards, they could fall out of the top 10.

The loss to Vanderbilt was a shock, but to their credit, they could have lost to South Carolina last week, but instead, they pulled out a 27-25 win to keep their playoff dreams realistic. They need to elevate their game to beat Tennessee, and Jalen Milroe has the ability to change the game.

‘This is going to be a lot of fun’

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe’s previews the Crimson Tide’s trip to Tennessee.

🎥 @UA_Athletics pic.twitter.com/NgUvl0bC4h

— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) October 15, 2024

The last couple weeks have been rough, but with 12 touchdowns, he should be looking to reignite the potential Alabama offense and put up around 34 points on the Volunteers. If they get to that total, we see them covering the -3 spread.

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Is Tennessee a Top Team?

There was plenty of hype around the Volunteers early, but after losing to Arkansas and needing overtime to beat Florida, the jury is out.

We still rate them as a top 20 team – they are ranked 11th, but we don’t have much confidence in their ability to beat teams such as Alabama.

Scoring only 14 points against Arkansas didn’t impress us, and they were awfully slow starters against Florida, where they scored 23 points. Their offensive output will need to improve to beat Alabama, and as college football betting shows, they could struggle.

They scored no first half points last week, and after losing to the Razorbacks, coach Josh Heupel knew criticism was coming.

“When moments like this happen, the outside world’s going to have a narrative for you. We talk about it when it’s going good, and tonight it didn’t go good,” Heupel told NCAAF news outlets. “You’ve got to look your teammates in the eye. Those are the opinions that matter.”

We believe more criticism will come on Saturday, and taking a +3 line is tough to do for a team heading in the wrong direction.

The Tide Could Turn for Alabama

Getting a -3 line for Alabama is rare, and we’re jumping on it before money comes for the Crimson Tide throughout the week.

We’re happy to lock in the odds for a team packed with future NFL draft picks, and although we know former coach Nick Saban would have gotten more out of this team, we have faith in Kalen DeBoer given time under his belt.

Over 56½ points is worth including in NCAAF parlays picks. It should be a back and forth contest, where Alabama ultimately pulls away in the second half.

PICK: Alabama Crimson Tide (-3)

Questions of the Day

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.