The Tennessee Volunteers were sweating bullets in their regular season opener as the country watched Appalachian State push them to the brink. Tennessee eked out an overtime victory and hopes that isn’t a harbinger of things to come.
The Volunteers can prove it was an early-season hiccup by bouncing back in Week 2 of the regular season against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Tennessee is a sizable home favorite and hopes to cover this time around, something it came far from doing against Appalachian State.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Virginia Tech +10.5
Tennessee -10.5
Over/Under 52
Odds Analysis
The line looks good, as there is a perfectly even split among bettors on which side will cover. Virginia Tech is a former power which has fallen on lean times but will hope to show well in this one.
The scoring total has been hit with the “under” more commonly early in the week. Virginia is breaking in a new quarterback while Tennessee struggled offensively in its opener, so touchdowns could be at a premium in this contest.
Player to Watch
The Volunteers have quarterback Josh Dobbs under center once again. He threw for 2,291 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions a season ago. With more experience under his belt, those numbers are expected to improve.
Tennessee has a solid running back in Jalen Hurd, and if Dobbs can move the ball through the air, the offense could be pretty good. However, Dobbs really struggled in the opener against inferior competition.
He finished just 16-of-29 for 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the opener as Tennessee came dangerously close to losing. Dobbs will need to be much better in this one and moving forward if Tennessee can live up to the expectations of a top-10 team.
Key Stat
206. That’s the number of rushing yards Virginia Tech put up in its season-opening win over Liberty, 36-13. The Hokies used 10 different ball-carriers and were led by quarterback Jerod Evans, who had five carries for 46 yards.
Tennessee has a solid defense, and Virginia Tech will only be able to pull the upset if it can adequately run the ball. Evans is new under center, and while he threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns in the opener, the competition gets much tougher here.
If the Volunteers know a pass is coming, they can unleash the pass rush and have the secondary prepared. Virginia has to get itself into third-and-short situations consistently, and that can only be done by moving the ball successfully on the ground.
Free ATS Pick
The Tennessee hype train slowed considerably with the close call against Appalachian State, especially since many people watched it happen. The Volunteers trailed at halftime and needed a crucial sequence of events go their way to pull out the win.
Tennessee should remain in the top-25 since it was ranked in the top-10 to begin the season, but such a small margin of victory against an inferior opponent will result in doubts until the team comes up with better displays in coming weeks.
The Volunteers won nine games a season ago and returned a lot of talent, but the first game showed that bringing back key players doesn’t always translate to success.
Virginia Tech looked solid in its opener and could really turn some heads with an upset road victory. That probably won’t happen, but covering the spread is eminently doable. The “under” is the easy call as this one could be a slugfest.
College Football Odds: Tennessee 24, Virginia Tech 22
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
