A couple of ranked collisions are part of Saturday’s early lineup, and the contests in the SEC and Big 12 make the list as two of the top college football betting picks on the Week 6 card.
Tennessee Volunteers vs. LSU Tigers
Saturday, October 08, 2022 – 12:00 PM EDT at Tiger Stadium
While Alabama and Georgia represent the shiny object dangling above college football, and especially the SEC, the Tennessee Volunteers lurk in the shadows as a potential conference and playoff contender heading into a tough road tilt against the LSU Tigers.
Vols Off Bye Week
Tennessee took last week off, and maybe that will help the Volunteers put their big 38-33 win over Florida out of mind, that emotional triumph just their second over the Gators in the last 17 matchups, though the final margin failed to cover an 11½-point spread at the sportsbooks.
Week 5 saw LSU stage a huge comeback on the road at Auburn, rallying from 17, down to a 21-17 decision as 8-point chalk.
But the victory left the Tigers banged up with guard Garrett Dellinger (hand) and tailback Armoni Goodwin (hamstring) each showing up as questionable to play Tennessee.
First Meeting in Nearly 5 Years
One of the more sporadically-played rivalries in the Southeastern Conference, Tennessee and LSU are getting together for the first time since 2017, and just the second time since 2011, with the Tigers seeking their sixth consecutive win in the series.
Tennessee does hold a solid 20-10 lead in the rivalry, along with 3 ties, and the Volunteers last tasted victory over the Tigers during the 2005 campaign when they slipped past LSU, 30-27. Three of the last four matchups stopped short of the totals.
Tennessee Split SEC Road Covers in 2021
After going 2-2 against the spread out on the SEC highway last season, and covering their lone road game this year at Pitt, the Volunteers find themselves favored by a field goal at Caesars Sportsbook, where the total has been set at 64.
Could we see the spread drop to 2½ later this week? Perhaps, but the best play right now can be found on the scoreboard where the total is on the way up and won’t be reached in a game where neither team makes it out of the 20s.
NCAAF Pick: Under 64 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
TCU Horned Frogs at Kansas Jayhawks
Saturday, October 08, 2022 – 12:00 PM EDT at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
There are four unbeaten teams remaining in the Big 12 Conference, and whether you want to believe me or not, two of them are the TCU Horned Frogs and Kansas Jayhawks, who square off in Lawrence in another one of the early Saturday games.
Can Jayhawks Rock Horned Frogs’ Chalk?
This is one of those matchups we might rather see on the hardwood where Jamie Dixon and Bill Self would match wits, but we’ll have to settle instead for the gridiron where the visiting side is once again favored on the NCAAF odds with TCU on a -6 spread and 67½ for the total.
Big Plays Give TCU Rout of Oklahoma
It has been a splendid start to the Sonny Dykes era in Ft. Worth, and the Horned Frogs really opened some eyes this past week when they moved to 4-0 on the season with a stunning 55-24 whipping of then-No. 18 Oklahoma, doing so as 5-point underdogs.
Kansas moved to 5-0 at the same time with another winning NCAA football score, this time a 14-11 defensive battle as the underdog against Iowa State, the low-scoring affair coming after Lance Leipold’s lads averaged over 48 points in their first four triumphs.
KU the Underdog for 11th Consecutive Meeting
Since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012, the Horned Frogs have unsurprisingly dominated this series by winning nine of 10 meetings to push their all-time lead over the Jayhawks to 25-9-4, with Saturday’s skirmish marking the 80th anniversary of their first matchup.
Kansas has done very well at the window during that span, however, by covering seven of the 10 contests, and even gave TCU a scare last year down in Ft. Worth, where the Horned Frogs survived 31-28 as 3-TD favorites. The last two games in Lawrence went past the totals.
No New Injuries on Either Side
Both teams enter the fracas in pretty good health, and the weatherman is forecasting a beautiful afternoon for a football game in Lawrence where the thermometer will barely climb into the 60s under mostly sunny skies.
The Horned Frogs and Jayhawks are not only unbeaten on the field, but they’re also a perfect 9-0 combined at the books, so something has to give there.
They are also 6-3 O/U on the scoreboard, and that is the top college football pick with the final sailing past the total.
NCAAF Pick: Over 67½ (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
