Ball State Cardinals vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/01/2022

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, September 1, 2022

Venue:  Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

Where to Watch:  SEC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Ball State +33, Tennessee -33; Over/Under:  68 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Ball State +33.5, Tennessee -33.5; Over/Under:  68 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Ball State +32.5, Tennessee -32.5; Over/Under:  67.5 points

 

Ball State Cardinals:  0-0 (MAC West)

Tennessee Volunteers:  0-0 (SEC East)

 

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Ball State Cardinals:  N/A

Tennessee Volunteers:  N/A

 

Ball State is playing their season opener here on Thursday and this will also be their first road game of the college football season. They finished last season with a 6-7 record overall and were 3-3 in their road games. They were also 4-4 in their conference games and finished 4th place in the MAC West. They ended their season with a 51-20 loss against Georgia State in the Camellia Bowl. Their offense was averaging 337.6 YPG and 24.1 PPG while their defense was allowing 419.7 YPG and 28.4 PPG against them. Drew Plitt led the team in passing with 2,541 passing yards, Carson Steele led the team in rushing with 891 rushing yards, and Jayson Jackson led the team in receiving with 829 receiving yards. 

 

 

 

Tennessee is playing their season opener here on Thursday and this will also be their first home game on the college football schedule this season. They finished last season with a 7-6 record overall and were 5-3 in their home games. They were also 4-4 with their conference record and finished in 3rd place in the SEC East. They ended their season off with a 48-45 loss against Purdue in the Music City Bowl. Their offense was averaging 475.3 YPG and 39.3 PPG while their defense was allowing 421.7 YPG and 29.1 PPG against them. Hendon Hooker led the team in passing with 2,945 passing yards, Jabari Small led the team in rushing with 796 rushing yards, and Cedric Tillman led the team in receiving with 1,081 receiving yards. 

The current betting odds have Tennessee listed as a 33 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Ball State finished last season with barely a .500 record, just slipping into a Bowl game at the end of the year but they were not a very good team. Their team did have some talent at key positions but their QB from last season, Drew Plitt, has gone to the NFL and they do not have much talent left compared to this Tennessee team. There will not be the same chemistry from last season on this Ball State team this year while Tennessee has been building with their new coach Josh Heupel, who is only in his 2nd season with the team, but there were already major improvements last season and a good majority of his talent has returned to the team for this season, including their QB, leading rusher, and receiver from last season. Tennessee is on their way up with this program and they were actually a very good team at home last season against these bad teams that they should be beating from lesser conferences, winning most of those games by over 20 points including a 38-6 win over another MAC team. Tennessee should be even better this season with all of these players returning and they will be eager to make a statement in their first game at home here. The best way to place a bet here is on Tennessee to cover the spread in this game.

 

Ball State Tennessee Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, September 1, 2022 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Tennessee 56 Ball State 10.

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Ball State Cardinals: 12-7 ATS in a road game where the total is greater than or equal to 63. 14-7 UNDER in all games. 23-15 UNDER when the total is greater than or equal to 63.

Tennessee Volunteers: 1-6 ATS when the total is greater than or equal to 63. 6-13 ATS in games played on a grass field. 16-11 UNDER as a home favorite of 21.5 or more points.

 

 

Ball State Cardinals:  None.

Tennessee Volunteers:  B. McCoy (WR) Ques Thurs - Eligibility. J. Wright (RB) Prob Thurs - Quadricep. W. Mohan (LB) Out indefinitely - Suspension. L. Whitehead (RB) out for season - Upper Body.

 

 

"I'm fired up to name Byron as our General Manager. He's meant so much to our program since we came in together prior to the 2016 season. I lean so much on him with everything that takes place off the field. He does such a great job of being so detailed and meticulous and does everything in a first-class way. It's awesome to be able to recognize him, and I'm looking forward to continuing our great partnership for many years to come." - Mike Neu on hiring Byron Ellis as the GM before his team’s season opener this Thursday.

 

 

“I think it’s absolutely that (receiver friendly) and it’s a message to the younger guys in high school. When you’re looking for an offense to really be prolific in, you see Ced and Velus and what they did before we got here and you see what they did when we got here. It’s like something off of a movie. It’s real.” - Kelsey Pope on the lack of development by the previous regime before this season opener on Thursday.

 

 

 

WR Tyler, Yo'Heinz

WR Abdur-Rahman, Amir

WR Jackson, Jayshon 

TE Lezon, Ryan

QB Paddock, John

RB Steele, Carson 

 

WR Tillman, Cedric

WR Keyton, Ramel

WR Hyatt, Jalin 

TE Warren, Jacob

QB Hooker, Hendon

RB Small, Jabari 

 

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Coaches:

Ball State Cardinals: Mike Neu (7th season)

Tennessee Volunteers: Josh Heupel (2nd season)