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Free Prediction: Tennessee vs. #4 Oklahoma Point Spreads & Preview

Week 3: Volunteers vs Sooners Picks

NCAA Football Week 3 betting action sees the Tennessee Volunteers taking on the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday September 13th at Memorial Stadium. Cappers Picks provides free college football handicapping tips all season long.

The once-prestigious Tennessee Volunteers look to a program finally on the upswing, but they travel to the nation’s breadbasket to take on a dominant Oklahoma squad. The Sooners have picked up where they left off last season and they look like a prime contender.

NCAA Football Wagering

Tennessee Volunteers vs. #4 OU Sooners
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 13 2014, 8 pm EST
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Norman OK
NCAA Betting Point Spread: OU -21
NCAA Football Betting Over/Under: 56.5
***2014 CFB BONUSES***
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Click here to view… NCAAF Betting Stats & NCAAF Handicapping Insight!

Oklahoma has absolutely steamrolled its first two opponents, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa. The Sooners defense has been dominant, especially in the first half (the Sooners have out-paced their opponents 64-3 in the first half thus far).

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Interestingly, the Vols defense has also picked up the pace. Tennessee’s “D” unit ranked 90th a year ago, but stalwarts like LB A.J. Johnson has the defense almost carrying the team to a 2-0 record.

Tennessee’s season-opening 38-7 victory over Utah State was highly impressive, but neither the Aggies nor Arkansas State last week pose the same challenge that a road date with Oklahoma will.

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Sooners QB Trevor Knight had his coming-out party against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last year and he’s right back on form to start 2014. He’s gone 40-for-68 with 552 yards and three TDs to start off, and he has some prime targets in Durron Neal and leading receiver Sterling Shepard.

What Knight doesn’t accomplish aerially, the gnarly Sooners defense polishes off. Rangy linebackers and speed in the secondary is the key to Oklahoma’s defensive accomplishments; that won’t bode well for Tennessee starter Justin Worley.

Worley has experienced success thus far, especially when he’s throwing to WR Marquez North. Still, Bob Stoops’s defense in a rocking Norman stadium is a far cry from the mid-major talent Worley has faced to date.

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College football betting trends

  • Over is 20-7-1 in TENN last 28 games in September.
  • Over is 7-3 in TENN last 10 road games.
  • Over is 13-6 in TENN last 19 non-conference games.

For the Vols to stand a chance, the duo of RBs Jalen Hurd and Marlin Lane must gather some yield on the ground against the rabid Sooners. They will need a performance from those two to buttress anything that Worley and Co. can find to exploit in the passing game.

It could be a rather low-scoring affair if the two defenses continue to play like they have recently.

Oklahoma is perennially a strong program, but there’s been several recent seasons of only decent results for Stoops’s young men. With its dominant performance in the bowl game to end last year, expectations couldn’t be higher in Norman.
A victory against a slowly rebuilding Volunteers squad is crucial to building the hype that surrounds this Big 12 contender.

An upset win on the road would certainly speed up the Tennessee faithful’s expectations of their program. It’s unlikely, however.

4* NCAA Free Football Pick: Oklahoma 24, Tennessee 14

Check out our Updated CFB Week 3 Odds.

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By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!