A non-conference tilt featuring a Sun Belt school and a SEC program is part of the opening week of the season slate. The Appalachian State Mountaineers travel to face the #9 Tennessee Volunteers Thursday night. The game kicks off from Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee at 7:30 pm ET and can be seen on the SEC Network. According to the current lines from oddsmakers, Tennessee is favored by 20 points with the over/under set at 60 points. This marks the first meeting between the two programs in their history.
Appalachian State rolled to an 11-2 record in 2015, their second year at the FBS level. That was a four game improvement over their 2014 campaign. The Mountaineers took a 31-29 victory over Ohio in the Camellia Bowl. Tennessee continued its improvement in year three of the Butch Jones era. The Volunteers finished 9-4, including a 45-6 waxing of Northwestern in the Outback Bowl. Tennessee is a favorite to win the SEC East title this season.
If you’re looking for the odds on other week 1 matchups, click here to get a complete rundown of the schedule.
Tennessee returns a staggering 18 starters from a year ago, which is tied with LSU with the most in the SEC. That includes 10 offensive starters coming back from a unit that put up 35.2 points and 422.3 yards per game. Joshua Dobbs led SEC quarterbacks with 671 yards and 11 scores on the ground. He needs to improve in the passing game. He completed 59.6 percent of his throws for only 2,291 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Volunteers have a pair of solid running backs with Jalen Hurd (1,285 yards, 12 TD) and Alvin Kamara (698 yards, 7 TD) providing a 1-2 combination. Tennessee has to get more production from Josh Malone (31 catches, 405 yards, 2 TD), Josh Smith and Ethan Wolf (22 grabs, 291 yards, 2 TD) to help Dobbs in the aerial assault. Eight starters return from a defense that gave up an average of363 yards and 20 points (17th in the nation) last season. Bob Shoop, who was the defensive coordinator at Penn State, aims to patch the leaks of a Volunteer defense that blew three double digit leads last season. His system should take advantage of the speed that Tennessee’s defense brings to the table.
Appalachian State is no pushover. Unlike several teams that transitioned to the FBS level in recent years, the Mountaineers were a FCS powerhouse. It’s impossible to forget their 34-32 upset win over #5 Michigan in the Big House back in 2007. The Mountaineers’ only losses last season were a blowout loss to Clemson, who lost in the CFP National Championship Game, and to Arkansas State. The loss to the Red Wolves cost them a Sun Belt title, which is their 2016 goal.
The Mountaineers bring back 14 starters from last season: six are on offense and eight are on defense. Taylor Lamb is back as the signal caller after throwing for 2,364 yards with 31 touchdowns against nine picks last year. He added 436 yards and five scores on the ground. Appalachian State boasts a trio of talented, experienced backs. The team ranked 6th in the country in rushing offense last season. Marcus Cox ran for 1,428 yards and 9 scores as the lead back. Jalin Moore (731 yards, 5 TD) and Terrence Upshaw (438 yards, 3 TD) are capable of producing when given the opportunity. The passing game needs new targets as Simms McElfresh and Malachi Jones have moved on.
The defense brings back plenty of starters from last year’s unit. The Mountaineers ranked first in the nation in red zone defense. Appalachian State was 14th in scoring defense by allowing 19.1 points per game. Latrell Gibbs, a first team All-Sun Belt pick last year, is academically ineligible. That ruling came down earlier this summer. He picked off seven passes last season; the rest of the team finished with 11. That is a major blow to the Appalachian State defense.
Tennessee is motivated to avoid letdowns like they suffered last season. The Mountaineers are a top notch mid-major team that will compete for the Sun Belt crown. Appalachian State hangs around for a while but Tennessee’s experience is too much to handle.
Tennessee is 6-2 ATS in their last eight overall and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 vs. the Sun Belt. Appalachian State is 2-5 ATS in their last seven on grass and 1-5 ATS in their last six overall.