Tennessee vs Virginia Tech – Preview and Prediction
TENNESSEE 11 VIRGINIA TECH (54.5)
Implied Projected Score: Tennessee 32.75 Virginia Tech 21.75
MEGALOCKS LINE – Tennessee 9.5
The Game
It is time to TURN LEFT. The Battle at Bristol is on, yo. Tennessee survived an OT thriller at home against JUGGERNAUT Appalachian St and now face the Hokies at Bristol Motor Speedway in prime time. Time to trade some paint.
The Match-Up
Tennessee offense vs Virginia Tech defense
The Vols struggled on offense in week one and only scored one TD in regulation. The TD in overtime was an end-zone fumble recovery. QB Joshua Dobbs is also nursing an injury after taking a big hit, and while the prognosis is fine according to MEGALOCKS INSIDERS, you can never be too sure. And he is a big part of their offense. Last season Dobbs had 15 passing TDs and added another 11 rushing.
The offensive line was a bit of a problem last week and the running game struggled for the most part. It would really be a surprise if the Vols got the passing attack going this week. The Hokies gave up 181 yards rushing and they will have to prove they can stop the Tennessee ground attack.
The Hokies only allowed 160 total yards against Liberty last week. Clearly, that was not a big challenge. They did hold Liberty to just 2/15 3rd down conversions and have allowed under 50% completions for three straight seasons. The Hokies secondary is very good, so once again, we cannot imagine any game plan other than the Vols pounding away.
Virginia Tech offense vs Tennessee defense
New QB Jerod Evans looked pretty good in his first FBS game. The running game struggled as Trevon McMillian only managed 39 yards on 13 carries. That is bad news against a Tennessee defense that has been excellent dating back to last season. And they have some stars.
The outside passing game will be tough to execute with the Volunteers’ speed in the secondary. The Hokies have an underrated passing attack and move with quick tempo, but they are facing a really good defense. Similar to the Hokies, Tennessee was great in 3rd down defense last week holding Appalachian St to 3/13 on 3rd down. They also held a really good QB to 108 yards passing.
Tasty Tidbits
New Virginia Tech HC Justin Fuente will be coaching just his second game with the Hokies but there was already a noticeable increase in tempo on offense last week….One of the most interesting match-ups will be star WR Isaiah Ford vs the Tennessee secondary…..The Hokies have not had a winning season ATS since 2010…..new HC means reset the trends ?……It is very possible we see a return TD in the game as both teams feature explosive return men.
Summary
We have two very good defenses going against offensive lines that struggled vs lesser competition in week one. There are going to be some big plays in the game but we feel pretty good about one or both of these defenses shutting down their opponent. Both team totals (under) look pretty good to us and that is usually when we recommend the game to go under the number.
Conclusion
Official play: Under 54.5 -107.
You can get that almost everywhere right now. We would play it down to 54. If it drops below that we do not recommend anything other than a small potatoes play.
Lean: Would have to side with the dog in this one at any number +10 or better. Again, only if you are desperate to back a team in this battle.