Syracuse to Upset Tennessee Football in Season Opener
Is Tennessee football on upset alert in its Week One bout against Syracuse?
According to Saturday Down South writer Spenser Davis, that may be the case. In his article that predicts five upsets for the opening weekend of college football, he listed the Orange beating the Vols as one of the bets.
His reasoning is the questions involving Tennessee’s offense. With no clear quarterback, a retooled offensive line and an unproven receiver room, Davis doesn’t like how big of a favorite the Vols are in the game.
Quarterback is a massive question, as is offensive line. The receiver room is unproven (and is dealing with multiple injuries during fall camp) as well,” Davis wrote. “Last year’s offense was propped up by Dylan Sampson, but his down-to-down efficiency wasn’t anything special. Tennessee has struggled to create explosive plays over the past 2 years since Alex Golesh and Hendon Hooker moved on. Will the offense be any better with Joey Aguilar or Jake Merklinger under center? Possibly, but in Week 1, I don’t expect the Vols to be firing on all cylinders.
The line for the game is currently set at 14.5 points in the favor of Tennessee, according to ESPN. The moneyline is -700 for the Vols to win and +450 for the Orange.
Davis also predicted that the game will go under the 54.5 combined point total.
“I’d be interested in the under for this game as well — I think Tennessee’s defense will be dominant but the offense has a very low floor, even against a Syracuse team that struggled on defense last season,” Davis wrote. “If this does become a low-scoring affair, the Orange are certainly live to pull off the upset at
