http://www.rockytoptalk.com/2013/6/7/4406436/tennessee-volunteers-betting-linesFour of them seem really reasonable to me: dogs to Bammer by 27, Florida by 12, and Georgia by 11; Vandy a virtual tossup with UT favored by 1. I think all four of these are reasonable, though by November I hope we are a TD better than Vandy.
The other three seem suspect: Oregon over UT by 25, UT over Auburn by 8, UT over Kentucky by 7.5.
* Oregon by 25, Alabama by 27? Both of those are on the road, so are they really saying that Oregon is almost as good as Alabama? Or are they saying that playing @ Autzen is that much more of a HFA than playing @ Bryant-Denny? I don't buy either of those things. For that matter I don't see playing @ Autzen as nearly two TDs more difficult than playing @ the Swamp. It seems to me like the oddsmakers are either overvaluing Autzen and the travel west or overvaluing Oregon under a new head coach. Perhaps they overvalue both.
* UT over Auburn by 8, UT over Vandy by 1? Both of these are at home and Vandy follows a bye week for UT. Do they really see Vandy as a TD more difficult than Auburn? I think this is crazy. I know Auburn struggled last year but that team has talent . . . more talent than Vandy for sure. I expected to find UT-Auburn a tossup.
* UT over Kentucky by 7.5? I know this one's on the road but Kentucky went 2-10 last year, has far less talent than Auburn and UT, and is undergoing a coaching change just like those two schools. How are we not a 2 TD favorite in this one if we're an 8 point favorite vs. Auburn?
The remaining games with no early lines are vs. Peay, WKU, South Alabama, and South Carolina, and @ Mizzou. We'll be favored in three of those, probably be 10+ point dogs to SC, and Mizzou may be a tossup. So it appears to me that the early lines predict UT to go anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5, depending on the Vandy and Mizzou games. Seems reasonable, though I think there's a decent chance of a loss to Auburn and a decent chance of a win against either UGA or SC at home.