A loss for either Alabama or Tennessee has the potential to knock one of the teams out 🦩of the College Football Playoff.
That should translate to desperation and a more wide-open game on Saturday wit💎h both coaching staffs having no reason to hold anything back.
Here are my best bets for Week 8 in college football:
Alabama vs. Tennessee (3:30 p.m. Eastern, ABC)
Nick Saban must be hate-watching the Alabama secondary this season🉐.
This year’s unit, while incredibly talented, lacks discipline, which is downright un-🉐Saban-like.
It shows on tape with countless blown assignments and explosive plays through the air.&nb𒊎sp;
Last week against South Carolina, LaNorris Sellers was able to bu🍎rn the Crimson Tide with passes of at least 15 yards on four occasions, including a late 31-yard connection with Nyck Harbor in the end zone.
This has been a recurring theme throughout the seaso๊n, with receivers burning Alabama’s defense deep late in games.
Can Tennessee’sᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚꦉᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Nico Iamaleava cash in like Carson Beck, Diego Pavia and Sellers have in the past month?
The first hurdle will be hi﷽s coaching staff lettin🌊g him.
When operating at peak efﷺficiency, Tennessee’s “Veer an🦩d Shoot” offense should include a flurry of deep shots.
The offense🌳’s original architect, Art Briles, coined the phrase “haymakers until the final bell.”
Thi♒s season, it’s decidedly more run-centric.
Dylaꦡn Sampson has 73 carries over the past three weeks while Iamaleava has attemp🀅ted just 76 passes.
But those conservative game plan♑s came against anemic offenses in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Florida.
The Vols will have no choice but 𒆙to air it out in Knoxville, Tenn., once the Alabama offense gets cooking.
Kalen DeBoer is one of the game’s finest game-planners, and he’s up against a Vols defense that will struggle to commu♎nicate on the field.
Until he went down with a season-ending ACL injury, Keenan Pili, arguably Tennessee’s best defender, relayed calls from the coaching staff and made sure everyone was lined up properly pre-snap. 🔯;
With Pili out, Tennessee will likely be caught out of position a few times on🧔 Saturday,🔜 which is bad news against an Alabama offense with game-changing athletes like Jalen Milroe and Ryan Williams.
I like this game to devolve into a shootout much like Alabama’s classic against Georgia. I would play the over up to 59.&ꦐnbsp;
Recommendation: Over 56.5 points (-115, FanDuel)
North Texas vs. Memphis (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
The 67.5 total for this game is pred👍icated on Memphis’ recent offensive regress🎃ion.
Agai𝐆nst USF, the Tigers scored just three touchdowns in a 21-3 win.
But Memphis left a lot of points on the board viඣa a missed field goal and a pair of turnovers on downs.
They did run up 345 total yards.
The week before that, Memphis mustered just 24 points at h✱ome against Middle Tennessee.
The Tigers played things cons𝓰ervatively down the stretch with a comfortable lead but fared better in the yardage battle (413 yards).
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Here♚’s what I know about🥀 this game: North Texas is going to score at will, so playing not to lose isn’t on the table.
The Mean Green are fifth in total offense and score more than 40 ♏points per game.
What♓ I also know is that North Texas has 11 scarecrows on defense.
UNT is 105th in𝔍 Pass EPA, 106th in tackling, 133rd in pass rush and rank near the bottom in havoc.
This defense is the remedy to Memphis’ offensive blue🦩s.
And then there’s tempo. Memphis is 12th in plays per game, which i🧔s a snail’s pace compared to North Texas, which snaps it every 23.3 seconds.
I would play the over up to 69.5.
Recommendation: Over 67.5 points (-115, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Mike Calabrese is a handicapper for𒁃 the New York Post, with a sharp focus on college sports. His betting advice often centers around situational spots, including travel, rest and🥂 altitude disparities.