Tennessee football falls to double-digit underdog against Georgia

Rarely does a team come into a game week ranked higher than its opponent and be a double-digit underdog, but Tennessee football is in that situation ahead of its game against the Georgia Bulldogs. 

Tennessee defeated Mississippi State on Saturday night 33-14 without its star freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava in the second half. The gunslinger only played the first half and didn't return to the field or sidelines for the second half due to an upper-body injury. 

Georgia, on the other hand, lost 28-10 to Ole Miss. The Rebels had their way with the Bulldogs, who went up against the best defense they've seen this year and couldn't do anything on offense. Despite the glaring issues, Georgia comes into the week as a double-digit favorite against Tennessee. 

Vegas opened the line with Georgia as an 8.5-point favorite. Since Tennessee's win and Georgia's loss, the Bulldogs have jumped out to an 11.5-point favorite, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. 

The jump in the betting line is likely due to Nico's injury in the Mississippi State game, not the result of Tennessee or Georgia's games on Saturday. If Nico is questionable or worse coming into this game, the line could jump even more in Georgia's favor, but if he's healthy, it could fall in favor of Tennessee by a few points throughout the week. 

Neither Tennessee nor Georgia have been good against the spread in conference play this season. Tennessee is 2-4 against the spread in conference play, while Georgia is 1-6. That indicates that it could fall in Tennessee's favor simply because Georgia is favored by so much. 

It's hard to imagine an offense struggling as bad as Georgia's could win by two or more touchdowns against Tennessee's defense unless the Vols don't have Nico and Gaston Moore lay an egg against the Bulldog's defense. 

Tennessee and Georgia will kick off at 7:30 PM ET on ABC this Saturday night, and there is a lot on the line. The winner could also earn a spot in the SEC Championship Game and the 12-team College Football Playoff.