Florida at Tennessee odds: Early point spread released, How to Watch
Florida and Tennessee are set to meet in Knoxville in a showdown that could produce a more compelling game than the early point spread might suggest. In this rivalry game, anything can happen.
Still, there’s a very, very clear favorite going into this year’s contest. Tennessee has looked like a juggernaut, while Florida has been a mess.
According to lines listed by FanDuel, Tennessee will open as a 15.5-point favorite over Florida. The over/under point total for the contest has been set at 54.5 points.
That sets the expectation going into the game: The Volunteers are expected to cruise, so long as everything goes according to plan. But they play the games for a reason.
How to watch Florida vs. Tennessee
Time: 7 p.m. ET, Oct. 12
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Knoxville, TN — Neyland Stadium
The key storyline going into the game between the two rivals has been consistency. Tennessee has been very consistent throughout the season and has been able to build from Game 1 until now, while Florida has had a wildly inconsistent start.
The Gators have changed quarterbacks and played both Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway, perhaps hurting offensive cohesiveness for the sake of getting the more dynamic Lagway more involved.
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But Florida’s issues extend beyond just the quarterback position. A woeful defense has made it hard to keep up in games against quality opponents, and that’s shown up in the first half of the season.
Until that gets shored up — especially going against an elite Tennessee offense — it’s hard to put much faith in Florida.
On the other side, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been excellent so far this season. He’s guided the offense and slowly developed from week to week, to the point that he’s now very comfortable in the Volunteers offense.
He’s also got plenty of help.
Running back Dylan Sampson is among the nation’s best, while Tennessee has an array of capable pass-catchers to complement Iamaleava.
Tennessee’s defense has also been phenomenal so far this season, anchored by elite edge rusher James Pearce. That unit might make life extremely difficult on Florida in this contest.