Tennessee Volunteers vs Florida Gators Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/16/2023

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 16, 2023

Venue:  Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Tennessee -6.5, Florida +6.5; Over/Under:  58.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Tennessee -6.5, Florida +6.5; Over/Under:  59 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Tennessee -6.5, Florida +6.5; Over/Under:  58.5 points

Tennessee Volunteers:  2-0 (0-0) (2nd place, SEC East)

Florida Gators:  1-1 (0-0) (7th place, SEC East)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Sean Murphy is on a HOT STREAK in CFB with a 10-3 start this season! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Tennessee Volunteers:  won their last game at home against the Austin Peay Governors 30-13.

Florida Gators:  won their last game at home against the McNeese State Cowboys 49-7.

Tennessee is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against APU 30-13. Joe Milton was the starting QB and he completed 21/33 passes for 228 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Jaylen Wright led the team in rushing yards with 118. Ramel Keyton led the receivers with 52 receiving yards on 5 receptions and 1 TD. Aaron Beasley led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Aaron Beasley led the defense in sacks with 2. Kamal Hadden came away with the only interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Florida is entering this game with a 1-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against McNeese State 49-7. Graham Mertz was the starting QB and he completed 14/17 passes for 193 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Montrell Johnson led the team in rushing yards with 119 and 2 TDs. Ricky Pearsall led the receivers with 123 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 1 TD. Bryce Thornton led the defense in that game with 3 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Scooby Williams and Princely Umanmielen each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have Tennessee listed as a 6.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Tennessee is off to a 2-0 start this season and they looked really good in their season opener as they blew out Virginia in that game. They weren't great in their win over APU last week but they didn't need to do much to win that game and they were also looking ahead to this 1st conference game of the year on the road. Florida won their last game over a team from the FCS but they didn't look great in their season opener against Utah. They will have more of an advantage here being at home for this game as their defense did keep Utah at bay, but their offense isn't that good and they don't have a great QB in Graham Mertz either. Tennessee has been building their program up over the last few years under Josh Heupel and he still has some points to prove this season so he won't be taking his foot off the gas in this conference game with so much competition now. Tennessee has a lot more talent than Florida on both offense and defense and they will show it in this game. The best way to place a bet here is on Tennessee to cover the spread in this game. 

Tennessee Florida Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 16, 2023 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Tennessee 31 Florida 21.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Tennessee Volunteers Florida Gators prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Tennessee Volunteers: 22-7 ATS as a road favorite of 7 points or less. 8-2 ATS when the total is between 56.5 and 63. 18-10 OVER in all games. 13-6 OVER as a favorite. 

Florida Gators: 10-18 ATS in all games. 1-9 ATS off a home win. 0-6 ATS off a home win by 17 points or more. 9-5 OVER after 1 or more consecutive losses against the spread. 34-26 OVER after 2 consecutive games where they forced 1 or less turnovers.

Tennessee Volunteers:  E. Simmons (DL) Ques Sat - Knee. C. Mays (OL) Ques Sat - Upper Body. K. Garland (LB) out for season - Undisclosed. K. Pili (LB) Out indefinitely - Upper Body. D. Bishop (RB) Mid Oct - Ankle.

Florida Gators:  K. Eguakun (OL) Prob Sat - Lower Body. K. Zipperer (TE) Ques Sat - Knee. J. Miller III (QB) Ques Sat - Shoulder. T. Chiaokhiao-Bowman (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. M. Burke (WR) Ques Sat - Upper Body. J. Weston (S) Ques Sat - Upper Body. T. Livingston (TE) Ques Sat - Upper Body. K. Jackson (WR) Ques Sat - Lower Body. C. Carroll (RB) out for season - Knee. C. Jones (OL) Out indefinitely - Foot. J. Boone (DL) out for season - Knee.

“We need a sense of urgency in how we come back. We've got to make strides. Obviously, the environment will be bigger next week.” - Josh Heupel after his team’s win against Austin Peay in their last game. 

“It's always fun when plays work. We did some things that were significant statistically, but it wasn't really about that. I told the players in the locker room just now that I appreciate the response that we saw after last week, which was obviously disappointing.” - Billy Napier after his team’s win against McNeese State in their last game.

WR McCoy, Bru 

WR Keyton, Ramel 

WR White, Squirrel 

TE Warren, Jacob 

QB Milton III, Joe 

RB Small, Jabari 

WR Douglas, Caleb 

WR Pearsall, Ricky 

WR Wilson III, Eugene 

TE Odom, Jonathan 

QB Mertz, Graham 

RB Johnson Jr., Montrell 

Passing: J. Milton III (429)

Rushing: J. Wright (233)

Receiving: R. Keyton (118)

Touchdowns: D. Sampson (4)

Passing: G. Mertz (526)

Rushing: M. Johnson Jr. (125)

Receiving: R. Pearsall (215)

Touchdowns: T. Webb (2)

Coaches:

Tennessee Volunteers: Josh Heupel (3rd season)

Florida Gators: Billy Napier (2nd season)