Tennessee football: Week 14 SEC and Top 25 picks by Caleb Calhoun

Here are Caleb Calhoun’s Tennessee Volunteers, SEC, and top 25 Week 14 picks.

For the third straight time, Tennessee football takes the field this Saturday coming off a bye week. The last two times were off unexpected byes. Lining up across from them will be the hated Florida Gators, the game that used to stop the college football world.

However, the Vols are on a five-game losing streak and 2-5 overall, while Florida is 7-1, ranked No. 6 nationally and thinking about an SEC and national championship. This is one of many intriguing matchups Saturday. Before we make those picks, here’s a look at how I did last week.

Week 13 performance

Straight up: 7-1

Gambling picks: 6-10

• 1-7 against the spread
• 5-3 over/under

Overall performance for 2020

Straight up: 61-20

Gambling picks: 72-88

• 30-50 against the spread
• 42-38 over/under

Yes, I had a horrendous week. My slump is as bad as Tennessee football’s right now, but we’ve got three weeks worth of December games for me to turn this around. With the Georgia Bulldogs and Vanderbilt Commodores postponed, we’ve got five SEC games to pick plus two non-conference top 25 games, including a Group of Five matchup. Let’s go ahead and dive in.

Texas A&M -6.5; Over 48.5

Don’t read too much into the Auburn Tigers not scoring a lot against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Nobody does, and Tank Bigsby was banged up. This week, they’ll put up more points. However, the Texas A&M Aggies are loaded offensively, and last week’s low-scoring game against the LSU Tigers was a fluke. A&M pulls away in the fourth, as this game hits the over and they cover.

Arkansas +2.5; Under 51.5

Don’t bet this game. It’s too difficult, as it’s 100 percent a toss-up. The Arkansas Razorbacks’ worst loss is the LSU Tigers, and the Missouri Tigers’ worst loss is to Tennessee football. To even out their records a bit, the Hogs win a ball-control type of game here in a thriller. Sam Pittman gets the best of Eliah Drinkwitz.

Indiana +14.5; Under 44.5

After losing to the Northwestern Wildcats, the Wisconsin Badgers should be nowhere near a 14.5-point favorite. If there’s one thing you should bet on this page, it’s on Indiana against this spread. I’m going further, though. Wisconsin will keep it low-scoring, but Indiana will make the key plays needed to win. They’ll pull off the upset.

Coastal Carolina -9.5; Over 60.5

The BYU Cougars agreed to take the Liberty Flames’ spot against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. They’re flying all the way from Utah to South Carolina for this game. That’ll make them rusty at the start, and Coastal Carolina builds a huge lead early. While BYU comes back in the second half to let the game hit the over, they fall short. Bet on the upset here.

South Carolina +11.5; Under 46.5

This feels like the type of game where the South Carolina Gamecocks play a bit over their heads and the Kentucky Wildcats let a bad team hang around. It won’t matter, though, as UK still pulls away for an ugly win while the game hits the under with these two horrendous offenses.

Alabama -29.5; Under 66.5

Nobody should bet against the Alabama Crimson Tide to cover the rest of the year. In fact, the only way their games hit the under is if the other team doesn’t score enough. That’ll be the case here. Alabama jumps out to a huge lead early and just coasts by in the second half. LSU will get a meaningless touchdown but won’t do much.

Florida -17.5; Over 62.5

Oh, this will be ugly. Tennessee football’s horrendous secondary will get torched by Kyle Trask through the air. The Vols won’t be able to stop the Florida Gators all day. Florida’s proneness to allowing a couple of big plays a game will allow UT to score just enough for this game to hit the over, but Dan Mullen’s team covers easily.