The No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers square off against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, September 10th in a key non-conference battle. The Volunteers are 5-3 in the all-time series, though they did lose their most recent meeting 14-37 in the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Tennessee is coming off a shaky 20-13 (OT) win against Appalachian State. It arguably should have lost that game considering the Mountaineers missed an extra point and a short field goal attempt.
Virginia Tech beat Liberty 36-13 as 31.5-point favorites, also failing to cover the spread. The Hokies got four touchdown passes from Jerod Evans to lead the way offensively in the lopsided affair.
This game will be played at Bristol Motor Speedway with over 100,000 fans expected to be in attendance. Kickoff is set for 8:00 EST Saturday night with ABC providing the television coverage. Tennessee is an 11.5-point favorite over Virginia Tech with a total set of 54.5 points.
I don’t believe the Hokies should be catching double-digits against the Volunteers in this neutral site affair that is directly between both campuses. I look for the Hokies to be live dogs in this one and to play the Volunteers right down to the wire.
Tennessee bought into the hype this offseason and should have been upset by Appalachian State in its opener. It needed overtime and several great breaks, including a missed extra point, to beat the Mountaineers 20-13 in overtime despite being 21.5-point home favorites.
What was expected to be a high-powered Tennessee offense only mustered 319 total yards. Josh Dobbs went 16-of-19 for 192 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and had -4 rushing yards on nine carries. Dobbs also suffered a shoulder injury in the game that could hamper him this week.
I am big on Virginia Tech this year and feel it will compete for an ACC Coastal Division title. It was time for Frank Beamer to move on as players just weren’t responding to him like they used to. I love the Justin Fuente hire, who went 19-6 at Memphis the last two years. He was able to keep defensive coordinator Bud Foster on his staff, which has made the transition very smooth with the players.
And Fuente had a ton of returning talent to work with heading into 2016. The Hokies returned 15 starters this year, and that defense should prove to be one of the best in the ACC. It’s off to a good start in allowing just 160 total yards to Liberty in the 36-13 win in the opener.
I also like what I saw from the offense, which should be vastly improved under Fuente’s guidance. He coached Paxton Lynch and some high-powered offenses the past two seasons in Memphis. Now, he welcomes back eight returning starters on offense for the Hokies.
It looks like Fuente has found his guy in JUCO transfer Jerod Evans at quarterback. He threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in the opener. The Hokies also rushed for 206 yards as a team, including 46 yards on five carries from the dual-threat Evans.
The Volunteers are 1-4 ATS in their last five vs. ACC opponents. I still believe this team to be overvalued early in the season after getting so much hype coming in.
The Volunteers are 1-4 ATS in their last five vs. ACC opponents. I still believe this team to be overvalued early in the season after getting so much hype coming in. I think Tennessee will compete for an SEC East title, but it is vulnerable in these non-conference games early.