Mizzou Closes In On SEC East Title, Visits Tennessee

Marty Mauk and the Missouri Tigers are two wins away from a division title.

No. 20 Missouri will look to move a step closer to the Southeast Conference’s East Division championship Saturday as the team faces a tricky road game against a Tennessee side looking to become Bowl eligible.

Kickoff at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

In a week featuring plenty of cupcake matchups, the showdown in the Marble City makes for the SEC’s headline act.

The Story So Far

With two weeks of regular season action left on the slate, Missouri (8-2, 5-1 SEC) finds itself in the driving seat as far as the SEC East Division championship goes.

Despite a 34-0 loss at home to Georgia on October 11, the Tigers can earn a second straight trip to the SEC Championship Game with a win over Tennessee on Saturday coupled with a win over Arkansas next Friday.

The Bulldogs closed out the conference portion of their schedule last week with an impressive win over Auburn, finishing the season 6-2 in SEC play. Thanks to a tiebreaker, Georgia would take the division title if Mizzou fails to win either of its final two games. That turns Saturday’s trip to Knoxville into a must-win situation for Gary Pinkel’s side.

A division championship is a long way off for Butch Jones’ Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 SEC) side but that’s not to say Saturday’s game isn’t important for the Volunteers.

Tennessee needs one win from its two remaining games to become Bowl eligible. Jones led the Volunteers to a 5-7 record a season ago, so one or two more wins would demonstrate visible improvement.

With a trip to Vanderbilt – winless in SEC play – in a week’s time, the Volunteers can probably afford to lose this one, but there’s more to play for in this one.

Head-to-Head

Tennessee has yet to defeat Missouri in this short-lived rivalry, something the Volunteers would like to change on Saturday.

The two sides first met in 2012 following Missouri’s entrance into the SEC. The Tigers went into Neyland Stadium that season and took away a 51-48 victory.

Last season, the Tigers earned a more comfortable 31-3 victory in Columbia, Mo.

Injury Report

Tennessee is expected to be without quarterback Justin Worley (shoulder) while tackle Jacob Gilliam (knee) is out for the season.

Missouri has no fresh injury worries to contend with.

Check out the full injury list

Butch Jones has the Volunteers on the verge of the Bowl conversation.

Betting Report

Below you’ll find Betting Sports’ breakdown of odds and betting trends.

Missouri Tigers vs. Tennessee Volunteers odds for 11/22/2014

Moneyline: Tennessee (-172) opened as the favorite over Missouri (+152) on the moneyline and has seen its advantage stretch slightly. At the time of writing, BetOnline had the Volunteers at -180.

The Tigers are 4-0 on the road this season and will be looking to earn a second win at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.

Tennessee is 4-2 at home this season and will be looking to earn a first victory over a top 25-ranked opponent, after going 0-4 against the nation’s best so far this season.

Spread: The spread opened at 3 in favor of the home team and has edged to 3.5.

Tennessee is 6-4-0 ATS this season, including a 4-2-0 ATS record at home and a 3-2-0 ATS record when playing as the favorite.

Missouri is 6-4-0 ATS this season, including a 4-0-0 ATS record on the road and a 3-1-0 ATS record as the underdog.

Missouri covered the spread in each of its previous two games against Tennessee.

Total: The total opened at 47.5 and had climbed as high as 49 at the time of writing.

Both Missouri (4-6-0 O/U) and Tennessee (4-5-0 O/U) have favored the under this season.

In the previous two meetings between the sides, the over has paid out once as has the under. The last meeting between the two teams at Neyland Stadium was an offensive shootout and saw the total go over.

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