The Tennessee Volunteers will go to Columbus, OH to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, December 21. These teams are playing for the right to take on the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the second round of the playoff, which could set up a rematch of one of the games of the year in college football. Ohio State is favored by 7.5-points, while the total for this game stands at 47.5 points.
In this preview of Tennessee vs Ohio State, bettors can continue reading to get the keys to this playoff game. They can also find our prediction for this contest, which uses data-backed insights and strategies that have made us profitable throughout the 2024 college football season and for years before this one.
Up to 220,000 Gold Coins & 10 Sweepstakes Coins
Promo Code: Click To Claim
Will Tennessee Silence Doubters On the Road?
The Tennessee Volunteers went 10-2 this season, making them a top-10 team in all of college football. But there were legitimate concerns about the ability of the Volunteers to win games on the road in 2024. When making your college football betting picks for the first round of the playoff, you have to answer whether or not you think Tennessee can overcome its struggles on the road this season against a quality Ohio State team.
So far this season, Tennessee is just 2-2 on the road. They beat an Oklahoma team that hadn’t figured things out at quarterback at that time, along with a middling Vanderbilt team. But they also lost to Arkansas and Georgia on the road, exposing them as a team with limitations away from Knoxville. The question is which Vols team will show up on the road in their first appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception.
For the Vols to get a win in their playoff debut, they are going to need to stuff the run on early downs effectively. We saw Michigan have a ton of success forcing Ohio State to throw the ball on long-distance third downs by stopping the run on first and second down. A similar performance out of the Tennessee defense would be hugely beneficial to their chances of a first round upset victory.
Can Ohio State Bounce Back From Michigan Loss?
The last time we saw the Ohio State Buckeyes on the field, they blew their chance to qualify for the Big Ten Championship Game. They lost at home as heavy favorites to the Michigan Wolverines, failing to get going offensively, forcing them to play in the first round of the College Football Playoff as an at-large qualifier. But the Buckeyes are favorites at home against Tennessee as they look to rebound from their loss to Michigan in a game head coach Ryan Day has described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Ohio State’s struggles in games against highly-ranked teams under Day is well-documented. Here, he faces another top-10 opponent in the Volunteers and will look to avoid struggling in a similar fashion against them. Weather could work in Ohio State’s favor in that game, as freezing rain and cold temperatures are possibilities according to the forecast. But the Buckeyes will need more than favorable weather conditions to advance to round two of the CFP.
To win this game, Ohio State needs quarterback Will Howard to look like the quarterback they thought they would be getting in the transfer portal on a consistent basis this season. In his last two games against Indiana and Michigan, Howard has thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions. That kind of inconsistent play won’t be good enough against another playoff-caliber opponent.
Tennessee vs Ohio State Prediction
We are going to take the points with the Volunteers in this Tennessee vs Ohio State matchup to kick off the 2024 College Football Playoff for both teams. While we expect Ohio State to win this game outright, we are also anticipating the Buckeyes to struggle to create separation against a Tennessee team that can always make up ground with their passing game.
