Best College Football Prop Bets for Tennessee vs. Oklahoma (Bet on Nico Iamaleava)

Reed Wallach | Sep 19, 2024

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) fakes a handoff to running back Dylan Sampson (6) during the NCAA college football game against Kent State on Saturday, September 14, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma starts its SEC campaign on Saturday night at home against one of the best offenses in the ocuntry in Tennessee.

This will be the start of the Nico Iamleava Heisman Trophy campaign, will it stop in its tracks, or can the freshman get off to a big start in SEC play?

Let's discuss player props for this SEC showdown on Saturday night, including Oklahoma's elite pass catcher Deion Burks.

Best College Football Prop Bets for Oklahoma vs. Tennessee 

• Deion Burks OVER 60.5 Receiving Yards
• Nico Iamaleava OVER 248.5 Passing Yards
• Jovantae Barnes UNDER 42.5 Rushing Yards

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Deion Burks OVER 60.5 Receiving Yards

Burks has been the top target for the Sooners thus far, and I expect him to be force fed targets in a likely negative game script. Due to injuries and talent, Burks is the only wide receiver with double digit targets in each of the last two games and at least six catches in all three. 

The Sooners won’t be able to run on a vaunted Tennessee front seven, so I expect the team to get the ball to its pass catchers early and often to open up the field, namely Burks. 

The Tennessee secondary has been untested thus far and is the vulnerability of the team’s defense. Burks is a game breaker with the most talent in this Sooners pass catching group, I like him to show out in the SEC opener. 

Nico Iamaleava OVER 248.5 Passing Yards

This will be the first game that Tennessee is a projected one score favorite. Despite it being his first true road start against a formidable defense, I believe that the sheer volume of plays for this frenetic Tennessee offense will have the freshman sensation flirting with 300 yards on Saturday. 

While his passing yards number has been relatively low to start the season, the Vols ability to blow teams out has taken away from his output. 

Even if there are some freshman mistakes for Iamaleava, I expect him to get to his quota with the Vols’ up-tempo offense. 

Jovantae Barnes UNDER 42.5 Rushing Yards

As noted above, Oklahoma won’t be able to run the ball. The offensive line is both banged up and ineffective thus far and the strength of the Tennessee defense is in the trenches. 

I believe the ball will be with quarterback Jackson Arnold far more and for Barnes to continue rotating out with Gavin Sawchuk, which will limit his overall volume. 

Barnes has ran for an average of four yards per carry, but a lot of that good work came in a small sample size against out-matched Temple. Over the last two weeks, Barnes has 26 carries for 93 yards, less than four yards per carry. 

I’ll go under.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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