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Thursday 1-2-20 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc
I’ve now nailed five of my last six complimentary plays in college bowl action—including the last three in a row—as Oregon rallied late to top Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Let’s keep the positive momentum going with Thursday’s freebie on Tennessee as a slight favorite over Indiana in the Gator Bowl.
Speaking of positive momentum, it’s a phrase that absolutely applies to the Tennessee Volunteers football program. After starting the season 1-4 SU and ATS, including an embarrassing 38-30 season-opening home loss to Georgia State as a 24-point chalk, the Volunteers closed on 6-1 SU and ATS run, winning their last five in a row. Of those six victories down the stretch, four were by double digits, as Tennessee got its offense cranked up (averaging 30 points per game) and, more importantly, tightened things up defensively (allowing just 81 total points—13.5 per contest—in the six wins).
Even the Vols’ lone loss down the stretch was impressive (as losses, go anyway): On Oct. 19, they went to Alabama as a 34-point underdog and lost 35-13, easily getting the money.
Tonight, the Vols run up against an Indiana squad that’s coming off one of its best regular seasons in years. Behind a high-powered offense that averages 32.6 points and 444 total yards per game, the Hoosiers finished 8-4 (7-5 ATS). Unfortunately, none of the eight teams Indiana defeated—Ball State, Eastern Illinois, UConn, Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern and Purdue—qualified for a bowl game. On the flip side, the Hoosiers went 0-4 against bowl-qualifiers, losing to Ohio State (51-10), Michigan State (40-31), Penn State (34-27) and Michigan (39-14), giving up a whopping 41 ppg in the process!
Indiana, whose last postseason appearance came back in 2016, has also dropped four straight bowl games, its last victory coming way back in 1991! Conversely, Tennessee—which, like Indiana, is ending a two-year bowl drought—has won and covered its last three postseason games. And the Vols won all three by double digits … all against Big Ten opponents: Nebraska (38-24), Northwestern (45-6) and Iowa (45-28).
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