2019 Tennessee Volunteers College Football Odds and Expert Betting Picks

2018 Record: 5-7

2019 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 6.5

2019 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

Here we have yet another team that has been threatening a resurgence for, oh, about 15 years.

It seems like every August I am reading stories about how this is the year that Tennessee is poised to burst back through into the top tier of the SEC. And it never happens. So, when I sit and read preseason articles propping up this year's team, I take them all with a grain of salt the size of the Rock of Gibraltar.

The Volunteers are a pathetic 6-34 straight up in their last 40 games against ranked teams. Last season's 5-7 squad lost their seven games by an average of 25 points per game. And three of their wins came against East Tennessee State, UTEP and Charlotte. All three of those wins were at home - and they covered the spread in only one of them.

So where is Tennessee in Jeremy Pruitt's second season?

The Vols have 10 returning starters on the offensive side of the ball. They are pinning all of their hopes on the arm of quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who made major strides last season. They also have their top eight receivers, three of their top four rushers, and four of their five offensive linemen, with quality depth behind them.

All of the pieces are in place on the offensive side of the ball. However, experience doesn't preclude execution. These same guys played major minutes on an offense that finished No. 122 last year and No. 108 in scoring.

Pruitt is a defensive guy. And he has the majority of his back seven back. The Vols lost half of their Top 10 tacklers and don't have a lot of NFL-ready talent to fall back on. However, last year's defense was a little better than its numbers suggest. And if they can do a better job of forcing turnovers (and if the offense can help them out by not committing them), then there is a chance for this group.

The Volunteers have a chance to build some early-season momentum with five of their first six games in Knoxville. They have two key early games against BYU and Georgia, and a split there would go a long way into getting this bet 'over'.

However, it is tough to predict road wins for a team that is 10-33 straight up away from home over the last decade. They have to play Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Missouri all on the road, and I don't know that they will win any of those games.

I think that Tennessee is definitely going to get to a bowl game this year; their first since 2016. But calling for seven wins from a team that was so overmatched last season is still asking a lot. The Vols have a workable schedule. But I don't have enough trust in this program, or Pruitt, to get the requisite amount of upsets to get this team to seven wins.

I'll take the 'under'.

Robert Ferringo has been the top football handicapper in the country the past nine years, earning nearly $40,000 in total football profit (average profit: +$4,400). He has also posted 7 of 9 winning seasons (including three straight winning years) and produced an amazing 50 of 76 winning football months over the past 12 years. Robert has eight of 10 winning NFL preseasons and he is at nearly 60 percent winners over his last 1,000 totals picks. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System has posted three of five winning seasons. Robert is looking for a fourth straight winning football year and wants more profit this fall. SIGN UP HERE TODAY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR 3-FOR-1 FOOTBALL SPECIALS!

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