Latest College Football Lines – Tennessee, Georgia Try To Shake Off Futility

The Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs both endured brutal losses in week five of the college football betting season.

They’ll try to rebound in week six as the Bulldogs are a huge favorite on the latest college football lines.

Saturday, October 9th – 12:21 PM ET

Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA

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Tennessee Volunteers @ Georgia Bulldogs

Broadcast: SEC Network, Altitude

Latest College Football Lines: Tennessee +11, Georgia -11

This classic SEC rivalry isn’t going to decide the SEC East championship in 2010. Instead, it’s going to send the loser plummeting toward the bottom of the division. Neither the Vols nor the Bulldogs have an SEC win to their credit so far this year.

Moreover, both Tennessee and Georgia are coming off extremely painful and embarrassing defeats. Tennessee had LSU beaten in Baton Rouge and was just about to revive its season when a 13-men-on-the-field penalty gave LSU an extra chance to win the game with a play from the Vols’ 1-yard line.

The Tigers, who did their very best to implode and gift-wrap a victory for first-year Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, pounded the ball into the end zone on an untimed down with the clock reading triple-zero at the end of regulation time.

LSU beat Tennessee, 16-14, in one of the worst-coached games in college football history.

For Georgia –improbably yet undeniably –the reality of week five was almost as bad as the living hell faced by Tennessee. The Bulldogs, already saddled with an 0-3 record in the SEC after scoring just 12 points against lowly Mississippi State, couldn’t manage to win against a Colorado team whose own coach, Dan Hawkins, is sitting on a very toasty hot seat in his own right.

The 29-27 loss, sealed on a fumble within field goal range in the final two minutes of regulation, sent Georgia to 1-4 for 2010 and put coach Mark Richt’s job in profound danger. Both teams are desperate for a win this week. Who will prevail?

Latest College Football Lines: What Tennessee Has To Do To Win

The Vols – who will be without dependable placekicker Daniel Lincoln for this game – will have to score touchdowns. Tennessee can’t rely on field goals with Lincoln on the shelf. Quarterback Matt Simms will have to find a way to make big plays down the field; Tennessee has to gain yards in bunches and find ways to exploit what is a truly balky Georgia defense.

If Colorado can score 29 points against Georgia, it’s hardly out of the question for Tennessee to scratch together three touchdowns. If Tennessee can score 21 points, its defense is good enough to make it stand up over the course of 60 minutes.

The big question is if the Vols can indeed crack the 20-point mark on the road in Athens.

Latest College Football Lines: What Georgia Has To Do To Win

The Bulldogs brought in a new defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, to replace the ineffective Willie Martinez, who is now the secondary coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. So far, Grantham has not made UGA’s defense an appreciably better unit.

Against Tennessee – one of the poorer offenses in the SEC – Georgia’s defense needs to stand up and be counted. Shutting down big plays and also forcing turnovers from Simms need to be priorities for the Dawgs, whose offense has been inconsistent.

This is a game Georgia needs to win on the defensive side of the ball. A solid pass rush simply has to emerge for a team whose season is already on life support. Georgia needs to display the urgency of a team that’s already been pushed to the brink.

Latest College Football Lines: Outlook & Pick

It’s hard to see how Georgia –a desperate team –won’t win this game straight up. It’s also hard to see how the Bulldogs will be able to beat the number. Georgia shouldn’t be giving 11 points to very many teams this season, given its level of performance. Tennessee’s offense might be bad, but its defense is solid.

This feels like an old-fashioned 17-10 SEC headknocker. Take Tennessee plus the points.

Latest College Football Lines Pick: Tennessee +11

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