College Football Picks: Tennessee vs Oklahoma Best Bets
We are now in the thick of the college football season, playoff hopes for many teams are on the line, and every game has a resounding impact. This week, Oklahoma travels to Knoxville to face off with Tennessee in their only night game of the year at Neyland Stadium. The Vols are set to wear their "Dark Mode" all black uniforms and look to create a haunting environment the day after Halloween. Both teams are on the brink of their college playoff hopes, sitting at 6-2 on the year. A loss for either one of these teams would likely kill any hopes of a playoff appearance. Both teams still have more tests on their schedule, as Tennessee will have to go on the road to Florida and also take on a current top-10 team in Vanderbilt. Oklahoma has a bit of a gauntlet still to come as they go on the road to Alabama next week before finishing off the season with Missouri and LSU. This game is one more step on a hopeful road to the playoffs, but one misstep will end all hopes for either team.
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Tennessee vs Oklahoma Betting Odds for Week 10
Spread: Oklahoma +3.5 (ESPN Bet); Tennessee -3 (Caesars Sportsbook)
Total: Over 55 (Caesars Sportsbook); Under 55.5 (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Moneyline: Oklahoma +126 (FanDuel Sportsbook); Tennessee -140 (Caesars Sportsbook)
Tennessee vs Oklahoma Betting Picks for Week 10
Oklahoma got out to a great start to the season, but hit a bit of a speed bump in recent weeks with two losses in its last three games. The biggest reasons for their success to start the season have been their defense and quarterback John Mateer.
The Oklahoma defense comes into this week with the top defense in the SEC, allowing just 240.3 yards per game and 12.5 points per game. A big reason for that has been the scheming ability of head coach Brent Venables and the ability to get after the quarterback. The Sooners' defense is putting up the second-highest sack rate in all of college football while also ranking second in the SEC against the run and third against the pass.
Sooners quarterback John Mateer got out to a fantastic start on the season and, after four weeks, was a Heisman frontrunner. Through those first four games, Mateer had accounted for 1,405 total yards and 11 total touchdowns. However, a thumb injury that would require surgery slightly derailed his season. Mateer would get rest on a bye week following surgery, then would go on to miss the Sooners following the contest against Kent State. It seemed as though the star quarterback was destined to miss multiple games, but Mateer was back and ready to go for the Red River Rivalry against Texas. It can't be said with certainty whether Mateer rushed his way back, but he certainly has not looked the same since his return. Prior to injury, Mateer was completing 67.3 percent of his passes, and since the return, he has completed just 57.9 percent. A significant dropoff is one of the main reasons why the Sooners have dropped two of their last three games.
Tennessee, this season, has been nearly the polar opposite of Oklahoma. The Vols are more than certainly led by their offense, which ranks third in the nation on the season, averaging 510 yards per game and 45.6 points per game. Their defense ranks second-to-last in the SEC, allowing 401.5 yards per game and 30.9 points per game.
The Tennessee offense is led by quarterback Joey Aguilar. Aguilar currently sits as the nation's fourth leading passer with 2,344 yards on the season. While Aguilar has been one of the biggest threats in the passing game, the Tennessee running game has done very well for itself, too. The Vols offense features two talented backs averaging over 5 yards per carry. The featured running back is DeSean Bishop, who is averaging 7.2 yards per carry on 91 attempts and has found the end zone nine times. Rotating in with him is Star Thomas, who has averaged 5.6 yards per carry on 75 attempts while adding five scores of his own.
Tennessee vs Oklahoma Expert Pick: Tennessee -3 (Caesars Sportsbook)
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Tennessee vs Oklahoma Predictions for Week 10
The biggest factor in this game will be John Mateer's play. So far since his injury, Mateer hasn't been the same quarterback; not only are the passing numbers down, but so are the rushing numbers. This very well could set up for a get-right game for Mateer against a less-than-stellar defense. With the struggles that Oklahoma has had rushing the ball (ranked 12th in the SEC in rushing with 130 yards per game) I don't like the thought of the majority of the pressure being on Mateer when the offense is on the field. The very good Oklahoma defense by the numbers had not faced a top-50 passing offense until Ole Miss last week. Ole Miss threw for over 300 yards and put up 34 points on the Sooners. Could Mateer round a corner this week, and could last week have been a fluke for the defense, maybe? I will need to see Oklahoma prove they are capable of playing at the level they did earlier in the season before I can trust them here.
Tennessee 31, Oklahoma 24
Tennessee vs Oklahoma Player Props for Saturday, November 1st
Tory Blalock over 42.5 Rushing Yards
With Mateer still trying to get right from his injury and the vulnerability of the Tennessee defense, I would expect Oklahoma to use the running game more in this one, with Blalock being the main beneficiary.
