NFL Week 10 Picks

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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (2-1) at FLORIDA GATORS (1-1)
2013-09-20

Both looking for a jumpstart to their seasons, No. 19 Florida and Tennessee will begin their SEC calendars Saturday in Gainesville.

Both of these teams are off to disappointing starts to the year. After starting out 2-0, Tennessee was thrashed by Oregon 59-14 and failed to cover a two-touchdown spread to move to 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS on the season. Florida is 1-1 SU and 0-2 ATS, including a loss to Miami when it was three-point favorites. Their typically high-octane offense has yet to hit full gear, scoring just 40 points through two contests. The Gators have won eight consecutive games in this series, going 6-2 ATS in that span. Overall since 1992, the Gators are 16-5 SU and 13-6 ATS against the Volunteers, including 8-2 SU and 6-3 ATS in Gainesville. And after getting creamed by Oregon last week, Tennessee is now just 7-16 ATS since 2009 as an underdog. Florida, despite its slow start, is 23-21 ATS as a favorite in that span.

Senior RB Rajion Neal is the most dynamic weapon in the Tennessee offense, scoring four touchdowns already this season on 43 carries for 257 yards. He was limited against Oregon however, failing to find the end zone on 12 carries for 42 yards. Hes joined in the backfield by Marlin Lane (35 carries for 198 yards, 3 TD), who was actually slightly more effective against the Ducks. This duo is definitely the featured part of the Volunteer offense as QB Justin Worley is more of a game manager than a gunslinger. He has yet to throw for more than 150 yards in a game this year, totaling 372 passing yards, 5 TD and 1 INT. Though he has a solid 61percent completion percentage, his upside is limited and hell have a tough time driving for scores consistently if the backfield is slowed again and the defense gets torn to shreds again after it gave up 471 passing yards and 216 rushing yards to the Ducks. The defense must also find a way to be more aggressiveafter forcing nine turnovers in their first two games, they didnt force one against Oregon.

For the Florida offense, the pressure is on junior QB Jeff Driskel, who is probable for the action with a sprained knee. While he has completed 71percent of his passes through two games for 444 yards, he has thrown for just 2 TD and 2 INT while getting sacked four times. The nice part is that he has a plethora of options to choose from with WRs Solomon Patton (seven catches for 139 yards, 1 TD), Trey Burton (11 catches for 133 yards) and Quinton Dunbar (nine catches for 120 yards) all posing threats. On the ground, RB Mack Brown (35 rushes for 141 yards, 2 TD) is the lead option, though he must be far better than he showed against Miami when he was limited to 2.9 yards per carry on only 10 attempts. The good news is that the defense still looked pretty stingy against Miami, even holding the Hurricanes, led by star RB Duke Johnson, to a mere 50 yards on 28 carries (1.8 YPC). They have to take far better care of the ball, however, because if they turn it over five times again like in Miami, the Gators could be upset again.