College Football Odds, Picks: Texas A&M vs. Tennessee Betting Guide

The Texas A&M Aggies travel to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers in an SEC clash Saturday afternoon.

Texas A&M is coming off a tough 26-20 loss against Alabama. It’s been a pretty solid season for the Aggies, but with their second defeat of the season, head coach Jimbo Fisher shouldn't be comfortable, and this will be a massive test for them.

This will be Tennessee’s first game after its bye week, but before that, the Volunteers demolished the South Carolina Gamecocks, 41-20. The Volunteers are looking for their third straight win at Neyland Stadium.

Find a betting pick, preview and prediction for Texas A&M vs. Tennessee below.

The Aggies made it close against the Crimson Tide last week in a game that many pundits picked them to win.

However, I don’t know why everyone was so high on them last week.

I’ll give them that the defense is strong, but Conner Weigman being out for the season is a significant loss. Max Johnson has yet to prove much in his college career, and I was underwhelmed with what I saw from him the past two weeks.

I really like the weapons he has in Evan Stewart, Ainias Smith and his brother, Jake Johnson, but Max needs to show me more.

Even after losing De’Von Achane to the NFL, A&M’s run game has still thrived. While Amari Daniels and Le’Veon Moss haven’t gotten to Achane’s level of production just yet, they’ve been very efficient. They each have a couple of scores while averaging five yards per carry.

The one knock on them is that they do lack explosiveness. While they’ve been successful for the most part, the Aggies' run game is 120th in generating big plays.

Regardless of how vanilla this team currently is, coach Fisher and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin have built a powerful defense. While the Aggies are capable of allowing explosive plays, they’re third in Havoc and eighth in Success Rate.

Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and star defensive lineman Walter Nolen have quarterbacks quaking in their boots.

Defensive backs Josh DeBerry and Demani Richardson have also been crucial in the secondary. However, they did just get cooked by Jermaine Burton for nearly 200 yards last week, so they’ll look to bounce back in Knoxville.

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Joe Milton III is such a fascinating case study. After losing his job to Hendon Hooker, the sixth-year senior is rising to the occasion in Knoxville. The strong-armed quarterback has completed 63% of his passes while throwing for 1,164 yards and nine touchdowns.

I’d only have to imagine the bye was good for Milton, as he threw two picks against South Carolina.

For the Vols, though, a lot of the offensive attack comes through the running game. Jaylen Wright and Dylan Sampson lead the charge — as they average seven yards per carry — and Jabari Small also averages six yards.

With those numbers, you can imagine why Tennessee has such a high Success Rate on the ground, ranking 17th in that category and fifth in PPA.

Through the air, Milton has himself an array of weapons. Squirrel White gets a ton of volume, but Ramel Keyton makes the most of his opportunities, averaging 16.4 yards per catch.

Throwing the ball is always hit-or-miss for Tennessee, as it’s rated 93rd in Passing Success Rate. So, with that in mind and the tough A&M pass defense, I’d expect most of this attack to take place on the ground.

On the other side of the ball, the Vols' defense has stepped up this season. In Standard Downs, it ranks fifth in both Success Rate and PPA, as well as 26th in Havoc.

Linebacker Aaron Beasley leads the team in both tackles and tackles for loss while defensive back Kamal Hadden has been a force in the secondary.

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Texas A&M and Tennessee match up statistically:

Texas A&M Offense vs Tennessee Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	41	8
Line Yards	24	17
Pass Success	48	18
Havoc	52	15
Finishing Drives	62	19
Quality Drives	13	20

Tennessee Offense vs Texas A&M Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	17	10
Line Yards	7	9
Pass Success	63	64
Havoc	9	2
Finishing Drives	61	7
Quality Drives	95	34

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	90	87
PFF Coverage	71	3
Special Teams SP+	82	52
Middle 8	32	19
Seconds per Play	27.0 (70)	21.0 (1)
Rush Rate	49.1% (98)	53.1% (52)

Both teams have really solid defenses, so it makes sense why FanDuel has Tennessee favored by three points.

I mentioned how I’m not sold on Johnson at quarterback for the Aggies, but his vertical weapons in Stewart and Smith will definitely help make this a close bout.

A&M’s defense is so solid, and I fully expect it to make this game either close or low-scoring.

I’m a bit hesitant on Milton’s playmaking, and Tennessee has a very strong run game. The only problem is that A&M’s run defense is stifling, which will probably force Milton to air it out more than usual.

Both of these teams are like oil and water to me since they have exemplary defenses that can limit the other offense's strengths.

For that reason, I’m betting the under at 55.5, and I will play the total down to 52.5.