Here is the official preview for the Tennessee vs Missouri football game. The Tigers host the Volunteers in an SEC East match-up in Columbia on Saturday.
The Tennessee Vols will look to continue their winning streak Saturday evening as they travel to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers. Butch Jones’s football team is coming off of an ugly 24-0 win over the North Texas Mean Green, a week after surviving a scare in a 27-24 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks.
They are now back on the road after that two-game home stand. At 6-4, the Vols are looking to put together a strong finish.
A Top 25 season is still not out of the picture if they can win out, but Tennessee first has to focus on the task at hand Saturday. Despite riding a wave of momentum since their elating victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in early October, the Vols cannot look like they have looked over the past two weeks to win Saturday.
They are going up against a team that is 5-5 and will be desperately looking to win this game, which is its best shot to get to a bowl game with the Arkansas Razorbacks up next.
Did I also mention that this team has beaten Tennessee each of the past three years?
The Missouri Tigers have had a disappointing season, but they gained some newfound momentum with a 20-16 victory over the BYU Cougars last week, and given the turmoil on campus followed by Gary Pinkel’s announcement that he will be resigning at the end of the year, the players will do whatever it takes for a bowl berth.
To do that, they simply need to play their game Saturday, which is to make things ugly. Using their elite pass rush and potentially taking advantage of some cold and wet weather, the Tigers will want to force Tennessee’s offense to make as many mistakes as possible. And if they can generate balance and protect the football when they have it, they are in great shape.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has to protect Joshua Dobbs, continue to establish the running game, and Dobbs himself cannot turn the ball over or be as reckless as he has been. He appeared hobbled over the last two weeks, and Jones and Mike DeBord appeared to be saving him. He needs to be full-strength Saturday.
On defense, the Vols want to do the same thing Missouri wants to do. They want to get pressure with their elite pass rush, but the front seven also has to be physical enough to handle the Missouri rushing attack, something they have struggled with throughout the season.
This game looks to be ugly, and all of the exterior factors appear to favor Missouri pulling off the upset. Here is the official information on the game.
Who: Tennessee vs Missouri
Nicknames: Volunteers and Tigers
Where: Memorial Stadium at Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo.
When: Saturday, 7:15 p.m. E.T.
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Line: Tennessee by 7
Over/Under: 42.5
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- How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
- Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
- Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
- Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
- Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay
The Vols were initially favored to win by 9 in this game, but all of the things that make this a trap game has moved the point spread down to 7. That makes betting on this much harder given that anybody would have been smart to bet against Tennessee in the opening line.
As bad as Tennessee has looked for the past game and a half on offense, the best thing going for them is they had a historic defensive performance last week at the same time. That could be very useful on Saturday against Missouri.
But momentum will likely be in favor of the Tigers. Both teams have the same amount to lose while Missouri is playing with a heck of a lot more confidence than Tennessee at this point.
More from All for Tennessee
- How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
- Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
- Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
- Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
- Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay
The last thing Tennessee wants to be in is another dogfight, but that looks to be the likely scenario. Butch Jones warned after the Oklahoma loss that they would be in a lot more close games on the year, and this is another one.
Currently, the Vols are 2-4 in games decided by one score or less, but they have won two of their last three with the only one of those losses coming to the Alabama Crimson Tide. That’s a bit of good news.
Prediction
The All for Tennessee staff was split on this one, with two of us picking the Vols, one picking the Tigers, and only one picking Tennessee to cover the spread.
Averaging the scores out, the cumulative prediction is Tennessee winning 20-14, which sounds exactly like a Missouri game this year. The Vols had better watch out because they are in for another ugly setting.
Next: Tennessee-Missouri: Three Keys for Each Team
Weather
The good news is that The Weather Channel Online is calling for clear night skies in the forecast at kickoff time and lasting the whole game. The bad news is temperatures are expected to be below freezing at that point and only get colder throughout the night.
A predicted temperature of 29 degrees is in the works for 7 p.m. Saturday in Columbia, and the high for the afternoon is only 37 degrees. While the game goes on, that temperature is expected to remain above 25 degrees but below 30 degrees.
Which team that favors is up for debate. But it’s clear that the weather will be another element to possibly make this game ugly.