Citrus Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Tennessee Volunteers Odds, AI Picks, and AI Prediction

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Some of the biggest college bowls are still yet to take place, and that goes beyond the College Football Playoff matchups that are set. The Iowa Hawkeyes are set to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on New Year’s Day in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. 

The Citrus Bowl is always one of the biggest games on the NCAAF schedule, and these are two teams from Power 5 Conferences. That should make the Citrus Bowl betting options interesting as well, and this article will take a look at some of the top bets to make. 

Game Information 

Citrus Bowl

IOWA HAWKEYES vs TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

Location of the Game: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

Date and Time: Monday, January 1, 1:00 PM ET

Reason: 2023 Citrus Bowl

How to watch: watchlivesports.co

AI Betting Picks

ODDS	AI BETTING PICKS
OVER/UNDER	Over 35.5
SPREAD/MONEYLINE	Tennessee Volunteers -8.0

You always have to be concerned with looking at NCAAF injuries when betting on a bowl game, but the transfer portal has impacted these teams as well. No matter how you slice it though, it’s pretty clear that Tennessee is a much better overall team in this game. 

The Iowa Hawkeyes just refuse to find the end zone on offense, and that defense won’t be able to dominate in this game. Tennessee is a team that wants to play fast on offense, and they might score close to 30 points on their own. 

Taking the over 35.5 total points is one of the top bets to make, and you also want to bet on the Tennessee Volunteers to win and cover the eight-point spread. This might be a matchup of two solid programs, but it won’t be a great game on the NCAAF schedule. 

Citrus Bowl Betting Odds

Before you can make some Citrus Bowl betting picks, you will need to take a look at the NCAAF odds that are available. The Tennessee Volunteers are big eight-point betting favorites in this game, and that number will be interesting when looking to make NCAAF picks.

This Citrus Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Tennessee Volunteers matchup has a very low number set for the over/under line, and that’s another way to wager on this game. If you are going to bet the total number of points then that line is at just 35.5 total points. 

Citrus Bowl Betting Preview

Hawkeyes Can’t Find End Zone

This Iowa roster is full of some great players, but a lot of that talent is on the defensive side of the ball. It’s almost impossible to score as little as Iowa did this year and still end up as one of the best teams in college football. 

Iowa is sitting at 10-3 on the year, but they are averaging just 16.6 points per game this season, and they have even faced some bad teams. The Hawkeyes are only averaging 123 passing yards per game, and at some point they have to throw the ball down the field. 

For as bad as the offense has been this season, the defense has been able to carry the load and lead the team to wins. Iowa did struggle against the top teams on the schedule, but that unit has the capability of completely shutting down the run game. 

If Iowa is going to win this game then they are going to try to get it done without scoring 20 points. 

Tennessee Wants to Play Fast

The Tennessee odds to win the SEC East Division were solid heading into the year, but this Volunteers team just wasn’t able to beat the best teams on the schedule. Tennessee did finish the year with a big win over Vanderbilt, but they also struggled to get past the best teams that they faced. 

Tennessee is averaging 31.5 points per game this season, and they are able to have a great balance on offense most of the time. Quarterback Joe Milton II has thrown for over 2,800 yards and running back Jaylen Wright is over 1,000 rushing yards. 

Defense kept Tennessee from being at the top of the NCAAF standings this season, but that won’t be an issue in this game. Tennessee is facing a horrible offensive team and it should allow them to be aggressive on that side of the ball. 

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