Tennessee vs Vanderbilt prediction & betting tips - Nov. 30

The No. 7-ranked Tennessee Volunteers are on the road to face the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday at noon ET. The game can be seen on ABC.

Tennessee (9-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) is coming off a 56-0 win over UTEP, while Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4) lost 24-17 to LSU.

Tennessee vs Vanderbilt: Preview

Tennessee is an 11-point road favorite and the over/under is set at 48.5 points.

The Volunteers will be in the College Football Playoff as long as they win on Saturday. The dominant victory over UTEP got them back in the win column after the loss to Georgia.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is not looking past Vanderbilt.

“I said it, there’s a lot of football left to be played,” Heupel said on Saturday, via On3. “We’ve seen it. We’ve lived it. Both sides of it. It’s about controlling yourself and preparing and going and playing good on Saturdays.

"I’m proud of the way we handled this week. We’ll heal up this afternoon and tomorrow and invest in a great way and practice in a great way. Then we need to go play great football next Saturday as we take the field in Nashville.”

Tennessee is led by Nico Iamaleava who has thrown for 2,255 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. Dylan Sampson has rushed for 1,307 yards and 22 TDs, while Dont'e Thornton has 529 receiving yards and four TDs.

Defensively, the Vols are led by Will Brooks' three interceptions, James Pearce Jr.'s 7.5 sacks and Arion Carter's 58 tackles.

Meanwhile, the Vanderbilt Commodores are bowl-eligible and have been a surprise team this year. They are coming off back-to-back losses but will be motivated to beat Tennessee on Saturday.

"We're excited to play better, like we want to play a better game against them," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said on Tuesday, via AtoZSports. "And that's the opportunity we want to seize. We want to send our seniors out the right way. This is always the last game on the schedule.

"And you know, I've been sick to my stomach the last three years, whether it's leaving Knoxville or leaving our stadium here. I mean, it just doesn't sit well. So that's what our focus is on. How do we pull the best performance out of our team? And how do we represent ourselves in a way that makes us proud."

Vanderbilt is led by Diego Paiva who has thrown for 2,029 yards, 16 TDs and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 671 yards and six TDs.

This should be a much better game than expected entering the year, but the Vols defense will have a lot of success against Paiva. Tennessee's offense has been solid and will help the team get a big road win to punch their playoff ticket.

Prediction: Tennessee 27, Vanderbilt 17

Tennessee vs Vanderbilt: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Vanderbilt +11 (-110)

Tip 2: Under 48.5 points (-110)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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