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College Football Picks: SEC predictions against the spread for Week 5

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Sep 26, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd (1) is congratulated as he scores a touchdown against the Florida Gators during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

  • Date: Saturday October 3, 2015
  • Time: 7PM Eastern
  • Location: Knoxville, TN
  • TV Channel: ESPN2
  • Spread: Tennessee -6.5
  • Over/Under Total: 56

A month ago, Arkansas’ trip to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Vols looked like a matchup of top ten teams both capable of contending for an SEC title. Now, it’s a meeting of unranked teams that are both 0-1 in conference play, and a pair of head coaches whose seats are much warmer now than they were just a few weeks ago.

While Tennessee’s Butch Jones and Arkansas’ Bret Bielema are unlikely to get fired this year (unless they suffer an epic collapse of the eight, nine, or ten-loss variety), this is what happens when a team that enters a season riding a wave of momentum that builds into sky-high pre-season hype falls short of expectations early in the season: people begin to whisper, and teams lose confidence.

Both the Vols and Razorbacks had opportunities to win last week. In fact, both had late fourth quarter leads. But, Tennessee – much like they did in Week 2 against Oklahoma – squandered a 13-point advantage, and Arkansas – much like they did last year – couldn’t put Texas A&M away and lost in overtime.

As for the game itself, both squads have struggled with injuries all year, but Tennessee appears to be the better team and has home field advantage. Though Arkansas ranks No. 2 in the SEC in rushing defense (93.8 yards per game) and No. 3 nationally in time of possession (35:51), Tennessee has offensive firepower capable of taking advantage of their likely limited scoring opportunities.

Expect Jalen Hurd (402 rushing yards, 7 TD) and Alvin Kamara (211 rushing yards, 3 TD) to grind out enough offense to win by a touchdown.

Next: Ole Miss at Florida

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