NCAA Football Betting: Tennessee vs Florida Game Preview

It's only Sept. 15, but today could likely will decide the SEC East winner. No. 22 Tennessee (1-1) travels to Gainesville to take on No. 5 Florida in one of college football's most heated rivalries. The defending national champion Gators are -7.5 on WagerWeb.com.

The team that wins this matchup has claimed the East 11 times in the past 14 seasons, including nine straight between 1993 and 2001.

Expect plenty of offense in this game (over/under: 55). The Vols, who enter 1-1 after losing a shootout at Cal and then clocking Southern Miss, are led by quarterback Erik Ainge. The senior is 55-for-83 passing for 547 yards and five touchdowns. Arian Foster handles most of the carries for UT; he is averaging 5.9 yards per carry on his 36.

Offense isn't the problem for the boys from Knoxville, defense is. Tennessee is ranked 85th in the country in total defense, allowing more than 800 yards combined against California and Southern Mississippi, while the Gators have rolled up more than 1,000 yards of total offense combined in easy wins over Western Kentucky and Troy.

It's a similar story for Florida. Behind sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow, a dual-threat option, UF scoried 49 points against Western Kentucky and 59 against Troy. But UF has nine new defensive starters.



Tebow is 31-for-42 this season for 536 yards and six touchdowns and has been better than advertised in replacing Chris Leak.

"We're concerned with the speed and talent they have everywhere," UT coach Phil Fulmer said. "They spread the ball around on offense, and they are very aggressive defensively."

The numbers, not to mention home-field advantage, seem to favor Florida in this game. The Gators have won nine in a row, their longest streak since 1996, and are unbeaten at home since Urban Meyer left Utah for Gainesville. Oh, and Meyer is 2-0 vs. the Vols.

UF will be without arguably its best receiver in Andre Caldwell, who will miss this game with a sprained knee. But look for the deeper Gators to prevail in The Swamp.

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