The Tennessee Volunteers make their College Football Playoff debut on Saturday as they travel as the No. 9 seed to take on No. 8 seed Ohio State in the first round. The Vols last won a national title in the 1998 season under the BCS system and they never made the four-team CFB playoff field. They rode a strong defense to a 10-2 campaign this year and now will battle an Ohio State squad that was in contention for a top seed and a bye before getting stunned by Michigan in the regular-season finale.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes are favored by 7.5 points in the latest Ohio State vs. Tennessee odds, while the over/under is 46.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Tennessee vs. Ohio State picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.
Hunt, a former collegiate running back and the CEO of Football Gameplan, is one of SportsLine's top CFB experts. He's on a 66-48 betting roll on his CFB picks this year and he is an amazing 16-7 (+913) on his last 23 picks in games involving Tennessee.
Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
Now he has set his sights on Tennessee vs. Ohio State. You can head to SportsLine to see his picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game:
- Tennessee vs. Ohio State spread: Ohio State -7.5
- Tennessee vs. Ohio State over/under: 46.5 points
- Tennessee vs. Ohio State money line: Ohio State -289, Tennessee +233
- Tennessee vs. Ohio State picks: See picks here
- Tennessee vs. Ohio State streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Tennessee can cover
Head coach Josh Heupel came into the season known for his high-octane offense, but it has been the defense that has carried Tennessee. The Vols ranked second in the SEC in both total and scoring defense and they have one of the deepest defensive lines in the nation. They gave up fewer than 100 rushing yards per game, and a repeat performance of that would put a lot of pressure on Will Howard and the Ohio State passing offense.
The offense was inconsistent, though still dangerous this season. Running back Dylan Sampson had one of the most productive seasons in school history (256-1,485-22). The Buckeyes will have to key in on him, potentially opening up enough big plays in the passing game from talented redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava and receivers such as Bru McCoy, Squirrel White and Dont'e Thornton to at least cover, if not win outright. See which team to pick here.
Why Ohio State can cover
Per usual, the Buckeyes are loaded at virtually every position and that talent edge plus home-field advantage could be too much to overcome for a Tennessee team that doesn't have experience on this stage. After a 4-0 start against the spread, the Vols often fell flat from an ATS standpoint, going just 3-5 against the number down the stretch.
Both of Tennessee's losses came on the road this year (Arkansas and Georgia) and the Vols have picked up most of their signature wins under Heupel in Knoxville. The Buckeyes should be as locked in as ever following the loss to Michigan, so don't expect the Vols to catch Ohio State overlooking them. See which team to pick here.
How to make Ohio State vs. Tennessee picks
Hunt is leaning Over on the total and he's also found a critical x-factor he says makes one side of the spread hit hard. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Ohio State vs. Tennessee in the 2024 College Football Playoff, and what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the expert who is 16-7 on Tennessee picks, and find out.
