Tennessee Will Dominate Ball State

We started the college football season with a nice 2-1 Week 0 record. It wasn't the sweep we were looking for, but a winning week is what we all are looking for anyway. Now we get into the real season when everyone begins to play. This first week tends to be matchups that don't have much intrigue, but that doesn't mean there isn't money to be made!

Ball State isn't a team that you're going to be very concerned about. In fact, if you didn't go to Ball State, or you aren't a degenerate like myself, you probably don't even know anything about Ball State. Well, let me fill you in on them my friend. Ball State plays in the MAC conference, it is my favorite conference by far. I think the games are more interesting and the teams are typically a little closer in skill set. It isn't dramatic or pushing out tons of talent like the Big10 or SEC, but still, MAC provides fun football. Ball State is going to get destroyed in this game. Last year, they were just 6-6 and on a comparable game against Wyoming, they lost 45-12. Ball State has a new quarterback this season, and with this being his first game, I think he is going to really struggle against a good Tennesee team.

Will Tennessee scare a ton of opponents this season? Probably not, but they should be competitive. Hendon Hooker is back for his senior season. He didn't start the entire year last year and still managed to sling 31 touchdowns for the Vols. Tennessee also has Jabari Small, their leading rusher from last season. Offensively they shouldn't struggle to put up points on Ball State - if they do, there are bigger problems. On defense, Tennessee was prone to allowing yards both through the air and on the ground, but some of that should be tamed in a game against an offense that I expect to struggle to put together sustained drives.

While it is entirely possible that Tennessee wins this game by 40+ points. Seriously, I could see them scoring 14 points in every quarter, or basically every time they touch the ball. But, the line has already moved way up from the opener (that doesn't always mean anything, but here I think we lost too much value). I think a safer option here is the under 68.5 points at -110. I genuinely believe Ball State will struggle to find their footing offensively and at a certain point Tennessee might let up.