Tennessee Volunteers vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 12/30/2021 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021

Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Boilermakers (+3)

Total/Over-Under: 61

The Purdue Boilermakers (8-4) will try to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers (7-5) at Nissan Stadium on Thursday in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. Tennessee opens as 3-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 61.

The Tennessee Volunteers come into this matchup with a record of 7-5 this season. In their last contest, the Volunteers faced the Vanderbilt Commodores and earned the victory with a final of 45-21. Hendon Hooker went 10/18 with 156 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. He had a QB rate of 165.0 and finished the game with no picks. Jaylen Wright was the rushing leader for the Volunteers with 15 attempts for 112 yards (7.5 yds per attempt). When the final whistle blew, they ran 60 plays for 441 yards. The Tennessee Volunteers ended up running the ball 42 different times and accumulated 285 yds, which came out to an average of 6.8 yds per attempt. Against the run, the Volunteers conceded 115 yards on 43 attempts, which averages out to 2.7 yards per rush surrendered. Tennessee surrendered 17 completions on 32 attempts for a total of 206 yards, and a completion rate of 53.1%.

When talking about scoring points, the Tennessee Volunteers are averaging 38.8 points per game. As a unit they're maintaining an average of 211.5 yards rushing which has them sitting 19th in college football. The Volunteers have racked up 5,503 total yards for the year. When it comes to scoring touchdowns, Tennessee has earned 28 touchdowns via the pass and 29 rushing touchdowns. Tennessee has accumulated 286 first downs as a team, and they have been called for 76 infractions for 660 yds. They have turned the football over 12 times.

Regarding passing yardage, the Volunteers are allowing 3,017 yards which ranks them 100th in college football. They have relinquished 251.4 yards per game through the air as well as conceding a completion percentage of 62.0%. During the season, they are granting 404.6 yards/game which ranks them 85th in college football. They have surrendered 18 touchdowns through the air as well as 24 touchdowns via the ground game. The opposition is running for an average of 3.8 yards per rushing attempt and 153.2 rushing yards per game for the campaign. For the season, they have given up 1,838 yards via the running game in 12 contests. The Volunteers rank 79th in the country in terms of their opponents scoring, giving up 27.5 points per game.

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The Boilermakers step onto the field holding a record of 8-4 for this season. The last time they took the field, the Boilermakers went home victorious with a score of 44-7 against the Indiana Hoosiers. Alexander Horvath carried the ball 15 times for 49 yards, finishing the contest with 3.3 yds per carry for Purdue. Aidan O'Connell (4 TDs) walked away from the game with 278 yds on 26/31 through the air while his quarterback rating was 201.8. He didn't throw any picks and his average yards per attempt was 9.0. Purdue allowed 32 running attempts for 58 yards (1.8 yds per rush). The Boilermakers secondary gave up a completion rate of 60.0%, surrendering 147 yards on 18 for 30 passing. The Boilermakers finished the contest with a total of 447 yards and they ran 61 plays (7.3 yards per play). Purdue rushed for 6.0 yards per tote, finishing the contest with 167 yards on 28 carries.

The Purdue Boilermakers hold an average of 424.8 yards per outing, which is good for 49th in D-1. The Purdue offense has totaled 496 penalty yds on 53 violations, which is good for 122nd in D-1 in terms of helping out the opposition. During the season so far, the Boilermakers have racked up 4,086 yards through the air together with holding an average of 340.5 passing yards per outing, putting them at 8th in D-1. Concerning the points being put on the board, the Boilermakers are 74th in college football holding an average of 27.5 points per contest.

Purdue has allowed the opposition a total of 1,780 rushing yards (148.3 yards/game) as well as 17 touchdowns on the ground on the season. They have allowed 13 touchdowns through the air and 194.6 yards per game, ranking them 21st in Division 1. The Boilermakers defense has taken the field for 745 plays, which is 11th in college football. The Boilermakers are relinquishing 20.5 PPG, which has them 22nd in the country. Overall, they have allowed 246 points.

Who will win tonight's Volunteers/Boilermakers college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Boilermakers +3

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