This line has moved, but Tennessee is still a multi-touchdown favorite.
This isn’t how anyone drew it up, but now it’s time to pick up the pieces — and Tennessee is going to have to do it against a program known for breaking their heart. The Volunteers will welcome in Florida on Saturday night, finally returning to Neyland Stadium after three weeks away.
Tennessee saw their bid at a perfect season go down on Saturday, dropping a tight one to Arkansas. The Tennessee offense vanished, struggling up front and failing to get anything working down the field. An untimely penalty and some puzzling clock management was the final straw, as Arkansas put it in the end zone late to go ahead. The Razorbacks would end up with a 19-14 win.
Florida, for as bad as they’ve played all season long, actually looked pretty good over the weekend. They were able to handle a decent UCF team in The Swamp, coming away with a 24-13 win. Billy Napier continues to coach for his life, and has strung together two straight wins to stay breathing early on. Their nightmare schedule really picks up this weekend though, with Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss up next.
Napier and the Gators will enter Knoxville as big underdogs. This line has settled in at 15.5 following this weekend’s results. It was around 20 late last weekend.
Josh Heupel is 1-2 so far against the Gators, winning his lone attempt at Neyland Stadium back in 2022. Tennessee put forth one of their worst efforts last season in The Swamp, continuing a trend of Heupel’s road struggles.
Can they bounce back here in this spot? Based on Heupel’s success at home, you’d think so. However, key injuries to receivers Bru McCoy and Squirrel White will be something to monitor this week. Tennessee also clearly has some things to work out up front on the offensive line after that performance against the Razorbacks.
Kickoff is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.