LSU football vs. Tennessee: Best bets for Week 6 College Football

LSU football has shocked the nation thus far en route to a 4-1 start. The Tigers have earned quality wins over Mississippi State at home and Auburn on the road. This has earned them a spot in the AP Top 25 Poll. Now, the Bayou Bengals are going to need to dig deep to defend that ranking though. Come next week, LSU will either jump significantly in the rankings or crash out completely. The toughest test of the season awaits.

Tennessee, the No. 8 team in the country, strolls into Tiger Stadium fresh off a win over Florida followed by a bye week. The Volunteers have had more than enough time to prepare for this contest, but will it be enough to win in an environment they’ve failed to emerge victorious from since 2005? Time will tell; oddsmakers seem unsure up to this point though.

LSU football vs. Tennessee: Best bets for Week 6 College Football

The lookahead line before last Saturday for this game was Tennessee -4.5. That shifted following LSU’s sloppy 21-17 win over Auburn to -3.5 as an opening line. It has since gone down to the Volunteers -2.5 before settling on -3 as of Thursday evening.

Here are all of the odds via FanDuel Sportsbook:

Spread: Tennessee -3 (-112) | LSU +3 (-108)

Moneyline: Tennessee (-156) | LSU (+130)

O/U: 64.5 (O: -114) | (U: -106)

I’m going to do what I usually do and stay away from betting moneyline in this contest. Spreads this small also spell danger, especially when there is no half-point. This opens up the possibility of a push with any potential game-winning or go-ahead field goal in a close game. Hard pass.

I absolutely love the under in this game though. The Tigers’ defense (overall) and the Volunteers’ rush defense is far too good to allow 65 or more points in total. I think this will be a relatively low-scoring contest all things considered, so I’m going to be hammering the under 64.5 (-106).

Seeing as this game is a Top 25 matchup, we’re now getting the return of individual props thanks to FanDuel. These were absent when this post was written last week. Suffice it to say, it’s a welcomed return in such an unpredictable contest.

I’m keeping my eye on the LSU ground attack in this game when the Tigers get near the goal line. Mike Denbrock loves to run the football in the red zone. As a result, it’s almost a pick ’em when the Bayou Bengals get into Tennessee territory. Josh Williams’ status as the RB1 last week means there’s significantly less value in betting on him to score (-105). If you want to play it conservatively, take Williams to find the end zone.

I feel like getting a bit more bang for my buck though. Therefore, I’ll be putting my money on touchdown machine Noah Cain to run the rock in for a score. LSU’s newest running back addition has found the end zone four times already this season. He’s currently +175 to score against Tennessee, those odds are too good to pass up.

It’s worth noting that the Volunteers also have a horrendous pass defense. If the Bayou Bengals can get close to the end zone, Jack Bech (+360) is a name to keep an eye on. The LSU defense is +430 anytime touchdown scorer too—which is tempting—but I’d stay away given the fact that Hendon Hooker is so disciplined with the ball in his hands.

To recap, we’ve got U 64.5 (-106), Cain ATTS (+175) and Bech ATTS (+360). Good luck gambling, have a great weekend and Geaux Tigers!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.