The Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Saturday in college football action from Kroger Field. Tennessee just finished up a game versus Alabama over the weekend. In that matchup the Volunteers lost by two touchdowns to fall to 5-2 overall. As for Kentucky, they’re sitting at 5-2 overall as well following a bye week. The Wildcats lost to Missouri in their last game. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Tennessee Volunteers 

The Volunteers posted a pretty strong start in their first half-dozen games this year. The lone blemish on the schedule was a surprising 29-16 road loss to Florida. Otherwise Tennessee took out Virginia 49-13, Austin Peay 30-13, UTSA 45-14, South Carolina 41-20 and Texas A&M 20-13 during that time. The Vols played a sloppy game versus Texas A&M however, committing 12 penalties for 115 yards. 

In last weekend’s big game versus Alabama, Tennessee held a 20-7 lead at halftime. The Vols didn’t score again however, losing 34-20. Joe Milton threw for 271 yards and a pair of scores, also leading the rush with 59 yards. Marquarius White led the receivers with 111 yards and a touchdown off 10 catches. 

Tennessee Volunteers Team Facts

• Tennessee has won each of its last eight matches when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Tennessee has covered the spread in nine of its last 10 October games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Tennessee has won the first quarter in four of its last five games against conference opponents.
• Four of Tennessee’s last five games as a road favorite have gone UNDER the total points line.

Kentucky Wildcats 

Over on the Wildcats’ side, they got off to a strong start themselves this year and won their first five games. Those victories came over Ball State 44-14, Eastern Kentucky 28-17, Akron 35-3, Vanderbilt 45-28 and Florida 33-14. Kentucky ran into a couple of tough customers in their next pair however, falling to Georgia 51-13 and Missouri 38-21. 

In the Missouri game back on October 14, Kentucky had a 21-20 edge going into the final quarter but just couldn’t hang on. QB Devin Leary finished with a tepid 120 yards, two scores and two picks. Re’Mahn Davis added 128 rush yards on 20 carries, and Jordan Dingle caught two balls for 32 yards to pace the receivers.

Kentucky Wildcats Team Facts

• Kentucky has won four of its last five October games as a home underdog.
• Kentucky has failed to cover the spread in each of its last eight matches when playing with a rest advantage.
• Kentucky has lost the first half in three of its last four home games against conference opponents.
• Kentucky has won the first quarter in three of its last four games against conference opponents.
• Nine of Kentucky’s last 10 October games against AP-ranked teams have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Tennessee are one of only six FBS teams undefeated in home games this season ([z-0]).
• Tennessee rank T29th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (19.4).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to stay with Tennessee. Probably not touching this one in reality, though. The Volunteers went completely silent on offense after halftime in the Alabama game but still posted some decent stats with 404 total yards (271 passing) and 22 first downs. Tennessee has been at 20 points or fewer in three of the last five games, which isn’t a good enough result for such a talented squad. They’ll need to make some adjustments coming into this matchup, but I think they’ll manage. 

As for Kentucky, they were still in a position to win versus Missouri in their last outing despite an ugly statistical effort. The Wildcats finished with 12 penalties for 122 yards, three turnovers and a 5-of-12 rate on third-down tries. With the extra week of rest I like Kentucky to keep pace in this one for a while. Ultimately however, I think Tennessee wears the Wildcats down on the way to a cover. Should be a fun matchup.