NCAAF Picks: After his snit fit tantrum of a press conference in which he complained about the unreasonable demands of fans the Alabama Crimson Tide responded to head coach Nick Saban with their best performance of the season. The Tennessee Vols on the other hand are coming off their worst game of 2014 as they are learning just how outmanned that they are in the SEC.
The Volunteers will host the Crimson Tide on Saturday at Neyland Stadium with kickoff time starting at 7:15 PM ET. Coverage is on ESPN2. Alabama opened as a 15-point favorite.
Tide Rolls Aggies
Alabama is 6-1 straight up, 2-5 against the spread, and 3-4 under the total after a devastating 59-0 home payout over Texas A&M. Saban’s press conference rant seemed to relax the team and allow them to have fun playing football for the first time in memory. Alabama ranks third in the nation for overall and scoring defense and has improved to rank 16th for total offense.
Wearing Down
Tennessee is 3-4 both SU and ATS with a 1-5 mark on totals after last week’s 34-3 loss at Ole Miss. The Vols offense ranks a hopeless 116th overall while the defense has been a respectable 19th in the country. Head coach Butch Jones has done a solid job after inheriting an empty cupboard but more Volunteers are needed on the recruiting trail.
Matchup and Pick
Alabama has covered the spread in just three out of their last 11 away games with just four out of their last 14 away games going under the total.
Tennessee has struggled to maintain good betting value at home however with just six payouts in their last 18 home games with just two out of their last 11 home games going over the total.
Alabama has dominated their head to head series with Tennessee with the Volunteers getting just one payout in their last nine meetings against the Tide. Alabama and Tennessee have gone over the total in three out of their last four meetings. Alabama has come away with the cash in their last six visits to Tennessee with their last two visits going over the total. Based on their head to head dominance and last week’s respective results we like Alabama (-15) and over the total in this one.
