After ending the 2015 season on a 7-1 straight up and 6-2 against the spread run, the Tennessee Volunteers enter 2016 ranked in the top 10. The Volunteers will attempt to start their season off on the right foot this Thursday against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
College football odds 2016, Week 1 lines: Alabama, Tennessee among biggest favorites
The Volunteers and the Crimson Tide are double-digit odds favorites as the college football season gets underway.
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Tennessee is a 21-point favorite at home at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Thanks to a breakout season from quarterback Joshua Dobbs last season, the Volunteers were able to turn their offense around and rack up 35.2 points per game in 2015.
The Volunteers are favored to win the SEC East and could push for the team’s first SEC title since 1998. But first, Tennessee will need to take care of the Mountaineers, who are 3-1 SU and ATS in their last four games as a betting underdog, and who famously upset Michigan in the Big House back in 2007.
Appalachian State at Tennessee (-21)
USC vs Alabama (-11.5) (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas)
Oklahoma (-11) vs Houston (NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas)
Ole Miss vs Florida State (-4) (Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.)
Notre Dame (-3.5) at Texas
The biggest obstacle in Tennessee’s way to winning an SEC championship figures to be the Alabama Crimson Tide, who have won the conference title three times in the last four years.
Alabama is an 11.5-point favorite in Saturday’s game at AT&T Stadium against the USC Trojans. USC is just 3-3 SU and 1-5 ATS in its last six games including an 0-2 SU and ATS record as the betting underdog over that stretch.
The Oklahoma Sooners are an 11-point favorite at NRG Stadium this Saturday going up against the Houston Cougars.
Houston is 3-2 SU and ATS in its last five games against Big 12 opponents with a 2-0 SU and ATS record at home in those five games. Dating back to 1995, the team has a 4-0 ATS record in its last four home games against Big 12 opponents, per the OddsShark College Football Database.
While this will technically be a neutral location game, the Cougars should have the home crowd on their side in Houston.
The first full week of college football action wraps up with two prime time games on Sunday with Notre Dame (-3.5) at Texas and Monday with Ole Miss vs. Florida State (-4) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Notre Dame is a perfect 10-0 SU in its last 10 games as the betting favorite.
