Oregon Ducks at Tennessee Volunteers Betting Preview

Opening point spread odds - total lines at 5Dimes : Ducks -13.5 / Volunteers -13.5 O/U TBA

Time: 7 PM EST Saturday September 11, 2010 on ESPN2/ESPN3

In a non-conference match this Saturday night the Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) host the 11th ranked Oregon Ducks (1-0). Both teams are coming off big blowout wins, but no more cream puffs, as these 2 teams are solid, especially Oregon who are the odds on betting favorite to win the Pac 10 this season.

Tennessee is a storied football school, but they have not enjoyed much success in the last few seasons. They can somewhat get back to being a respected football school if they can score a home upset against Oregon.

I mentioned blowouts for each team in their season opener, as the Volunteers beat Tennessee-Martin 50-0 while the Ducks absolutely embarrassed New Mexico crushing them 72-0. Both teams covered the spread in their games, so each team is 1-0 ATS going into this big game.

In Tennessee's win it was their first shutout in 7 seasons and they were absolutely dominant racking up 537 yards on offense (332 rushing yards) and only gave up 142 total yards. They were led by RB Tauren Poole, who rushed for 110 yards and had 2 TD. He may be a breakout star in the SEC this season and he will have to play well against a speedy Ducks' defense that is mediocre, at best, against the run.

QB Matt Simms had a good game for the Volunteers in their season opener and he will have to connect on some passes so the Oregon D does not only focus on containing Poole. He is very inexperienced at the top-level and this will be the biggest start of his career to date.

To say that Oregon's 72-0 win over New Mexico is a blowout is an understatement, as they jumped out to a 59-point halftime lead and they had 720 yards of total offense (351 passing yards 369 rushing yards). They did not even play with their top RB in LeMichael James, who rushed for a team-high 1,546 yards last season setting a new record for freshmen in the Pac-10. James was suspended for the game, but he will be the starter against Tennessee.

UT will have to play good run-defense in this game and that is a big question mark for them. However, they do have some talent on the line with the DL of Chris Walker, Ben Martin, and Montori Hughes. Last week in James' absence Kenjon Barner stepped in and rushed for 147 yards and 4 TD averaging 8.6 yards per carry. If the Volunteers' run defense cannot contain these guys Tennessee will be in for a very long game.

The strength of the Tennessee defense is their secondary even though they lost Eric Berry, who won the Thorpe Award as the nation's best DB last season.

Oregon may be better on both sides of the ball, but they cannot take Tennessee for granted, as they are young and talented and will not lie down for the Ducks.

Our Selection :While the Ducks do return 17 starters this year versus the Volunteers 9 this number is a little on the high side for our liking. Ducks were only 2-3 ATS on the road last season and laying more than double digits on the road against a quality program usually doesn't help your bankroll. Take the Volunteers +12 at Bodog.


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