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Tennessee vs. Florida: Gators Open Up as a -3 Point Favorite over Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

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For the Tennessee vs. Florida football game, the Las Vegas Opening Line had the the Volunteers as three-point underdogs in their match-up with the Gators.

History is a clear indication of what this match-up is about, and despite all of the offseason hype surrounding the Tennessee Vols, the bettors are not buying it in their match-up with Florida.

And they shouldn’t.

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Florida opened up favored by three points over Tennessee, according to Odds Shark online.

However, by Tuesday afternoon, all of the lines on there had the Gators favored by two or two and a half.

But that still sends the same message: We have to see it to believe it when it comes to the idea of Tennessee beating Florida.

In 2012, with College Gameday in Knoxville and the Vols in the Top 25, what was a seven-game losing streak at the time was supposed to come to an end, as Tennessee was favored then. But a 20-14 second-half lead evaporated quickly, and the Vols lost 37-20.

Then, in 2014, the nine-game streak was supposed to come to an end again with Checker Neyland, Lil Jon in the house, and a ton of recruits on campus. But the Vols could not hold onto a 9-0 fourth quarter lead and lost 10-9.

That was the third blown second-half lead Tennessee had in the 10-game losing streak to the Gators, and two of those were two-score leads at one point, and in both of those games the Vols carried leads into the fourth quarter.

Taking all that into account and then Tennessee’s epic collapse against Oklahoma two weeks ago, there is still a psychological disadvantage facing this program. And the Vegas oddsmakers agree, which is why, despite playing an unranked team and with much higher expectations surrounding this year, Tennessee is an underdog to a Florida team with a new coach, new system, and supposedly less talent.

Next: All for Tennessee SEC Power Rankings Week Four

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