The next College Football Playoff championship game may feature at least one SEC team. After a review of the Volunteers 2020 playoff odds, it will be a shocker if Tennessee is that team.
Rocky Top may always be home sweet home for Volunteers fans, but oddsmakers at the nation’s legal sportsbooks don’t expect it to be the site of many wins in the upcoming college football season.
Volunteers 2020 playoff odds: offseason recap
The potential best additions to the Tennessee football program for 2019 don’t appear on the roster. Second-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt hired a new offensive coordinator in Jim Chaney and added Volunteers legend Tee Martin to his coaching staff, as well.
Chaney comes over from SEC East rival Georgia after three seasons in the same role. Tennessee fans hope he can be as successful as he was with the Bulldogs.
Martin will coach the wide receivers after seven seasons in a similar role at Southern California. The good news for Vols fans wasn’t all about changes to the coaching staff, however.
Pruitt also landed a top-15 recruiting class, headlined by offensive tackles Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright. Morris and Wright will be part of a group that has Tennessee’s fate in its hands.
The defensive line lost all four starters from 2018, and experience in the options for the coming season is shallow.
Volunteers 2020 playoff odd: season outlook
Most college football teams prize the health of their quarterbacks, but that’s especially true for the Volunteers. Incumbent starter Jarrett Guarantano is the only quarterback on the roster who has played at the collegiate level.
Keeping Guarantano healthy and upright is important, but the health of one of his teammates charged with that duty is also a concern. Offensive tackle Trey Smith has dealt with blood clots in his lungs, and that my force either Morris or Wright into action.
If Guarantano can be better protected, he will benefit from the bevy of skill position options he has at his disposal. The defense will need its stellar secondary and talented linebackers to make up for deficiencies in the front three as it makes the jump to a 3-4.
The downside for Tennessee is the level of competition in the SEC East. There’s no time for growing pains in the defensive and offensive lines facing teams like Georgia and Florida.
That’s a reason why media members picked the Volunteers to finish fifth in the division standings, and why the Volunteers 2020 playoffs odds are a long shot, as well.
Playoff odds for Tennessee include one enormous line
Tennessee sports betting is coming, and it will be all online. That’s where Tennessee residents and visitors can find lines on Volunteers futures.
It’s still not yet certain when sports betting in Tennessee will go live. However, we do know it likely won’t be in time for the Volunteers’ kickoff to the season at home against Georgia State.
It is likely that the sites will start accepting wagers before the next college national championship. The odds on Tennessee winning that game are remarkable.
William Hill, which could be one of the future sportsbook operators to accept wagers in the Volunteer State, is currently offering odds of +50000 on the Volunteers winning the 2020 College Football Playoff.
Other lines from other operators are more reasonable:
- DraftKings: +15000
- FanDuel: +20000
- PointsBet: +20000
- SugarHouse: +20000
The same operators also offer lines on Tennessee winning the SEC championship game.
SEC championship odds for the Volunteers
William Hill makes up for its irregular odds on the Volunteers winning it all by not setting odds on the SEC championship game at this point. The other four operators do have lines on that contest, however.
The odds of Tennessee winning the SEC championship game are currently set at:
- DraftKings +10000
- FanDuel +25000
- PointsBet +8000
- SugarHouse +10000
DraftKings has also set a line on whether the Volunteers will qualify for the SEC championship game by winning the SEC East at +1200. If Tennessee does that, it will make someone who bet on the over for the season win total some money.
Sportsbooks’ season win totals for Tennessee
DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet are all in agreement at 6.5 wins in the coming season for the Volunteers. DraftKings and PointsBet have posted a line of +110 on the under, while FanDuel comes in slightly better on the under at +115.
Getting to seven wins and proving the oddsmakers wrong starts with a home win over the Georgia State Panthers. Tennessee is a comfortable favorite in that game.
Odds vary from 25.5 to 26 on what the Volunteers need to win by in order to cover. All five aforementioned books have a line of -110 on that margin.
If the oddsmakers and media members are correct, the 2019 season will see Tennessee improve and get to bowl eligibility. Anything beyond that for the Volunteers would be quite an accomplishment and come with quite a payday.
