Alabama vs. Tennessee odds, spread, lines: Week 7 college football picks, predictions by computer model
A pair of old SEC rivals meet up for the Third Saturday in October as Alabama and Tennessee square off under the eyes of General Neyland in college football's Week 7 action on Saturday.
Big Orange has never defeated a Saban-coached Crimson Tide, but this year appears to be by far their best chance.
Tennessee owns the No. 1 total offense in college football in tandem with its second ranked scoring attack and comes in with the No. 6 national ranking in the AP top 25 poll.
Alabama is coming off a close win over Texas A&M with questions at quarterback after Bryce Young didn't play that game with a shoulder injury, but with the No. 7 offense and the 5th best scoring unit.
And the Tide got demoted two spots in the AP poll, to No. 3 after coming into last week's game at No. 1 overall.
What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.
Alabama vs. Tennessee picks, predictions
Week 7 college football picks: Alabama vs. Tennessee
The index is siding with the visitors, as Alabama has the 69.8 percent chance to defeat Tennessee on Saturday, according to the computers.
That leaves the Vols a 30.2 percent shot to upend the Crimson Tide at home.
The oddsmakers are predicting a close game, as Alabama comes in the 7.5 point favorites, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook, which set the over/under mark at 65.5 points for the matchup.
Despite falling in the AP poll, Alabama maintained the No. 1 position on the index's 131 college football rankings this week, owing to its national-best points per game scoring margin projection.
FPI projects Alabama is 29.2 points better than the teams on its schedule going forward, and estimated to win 11.6 games on the season.
The computer gives the Crimson Tide an 80.4 percent shot to make the College Football Playoff and the 32.1 percent shot to win the national championship, both the nation's best marks.
Tennessee owns the No. 7 position on the index's national rankings and is projected to beat teams by an average of 19.6 points going forward.
UT is estimated to win 10.1 games this season and has a solid 22.8 percent shot to make the College Football Playoff.
College Football Power Index
Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.
Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.
College football rankings
According to AP top 25 poll
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. Tennessee
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Ole Miss
10. Penn State
11. UCLA
12. Oregon
13. TCU
14. Wake Forest
15. NC State
16. Mississippi State
17. Kansas State
18. Syracuse
19. Kansas
20. Utah
21. Cincinnati
T-22. Kentucky
T-22. Texas
24. Illinois
25. James Madison