Kent State Golden Flashes vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/14/2024

Game Time: 7:45 pm ET, Saturday, September 14, 2024

Venue:  Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN 

Where to Watch:  SEC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Kent State +49, Tennessee -49; Over/Under:  62.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Kent State +49, Tennessee -49; Over/Under:  62.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Kent State +49.5, Tennessee -49.5; Over/Under:  62.5 points

Kent State Golden Flashes:  0-2 (0-0) (9th place, MAC)

Tennessee Volunteers:  2-0 (0-0) (3rd place, SEC)

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Kent State Golden Flashes:  lost their last game at home against the St Francis Red Flash 23-17.

Tennessee Volunteers:  won their last game on the road against the North Carolina State Wolfpack 51-10.

Kent State is entering this game with a 0-2 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-1 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They lost their last game against St Francis PA 23-17. Devin Kargman was the starting QB and he completed 22/38 passes for 193 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Ky Thomas led the team in rushing yards with 39. Luke Florea led the receivers with 92 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 1 TD. Josh Baka led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Kameron Olds led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Tennessee is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against NC State 51-10. Nico Iamaleava was the starting QB and he completed 16/23 passes for 211 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Dylan Sampson led the team in rushing yards with 132 and 2 TDs. Marquarius White led the receivers with 67 receiving yards on 2 receptions. Jermod McCoy led the defense in that game with 3 solo tackles and 0 assisted tackles while Jakobe Thomas, Omarr Norman-Lott, and Dominic Bailey each led the defense in sacks with 1. Will Brooks came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Tennessee listed as a 49 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Tennessee has looked really good in their games this season with their 2-0 record overall. They beat a team from the FCS at home in their season opener by 66 points and now they are coming off a 41 point win against NC State in their last game. That game was at a neutral site, but the game was still in North Carolina and Tennessee completely embarrassed them. Meanwhile, Kent State has looked terrible in their games this season with their 0-2 record overall. They went 1-11 last season with Burns being in his 1st season as head coach and they haven't looked any better in his 2nd season. They lost to Pitt on the road by 31 points in their season opener and now they are coming off a loss against a team from the FCS in their home opener last week. They only put up 17 points at home and gave up 23 points to a team from the FCS, now they have to face a team from the SEC that has scored 50+ points in both games this season. Tennessee was impressive in that win against NC State that was more like a road game for them, now they are coming back home against one of the worst teams in the country and this is going to look a lot more like their season opener against Chattanooga. The best way to place a bet here is on Tennessee to cover the spread in this game. 

Kent State Tennessee Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 14, 2024 (7:45 pm ET start time) is Tennessee 63 Kent State 3.

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Kent State Golden Flashes: 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games. 2-9 ATS in the 1st half of their last 11 games. 5-1 to the over in their last 6 road games. 

Tennessee Volunteers: 6-2 ATS in their last 8 home games. 9-4 ATS in the 1st half of their last 13 games. 6-1 to the 1st quarter over in their last 7 home games. 

Kent State Golden Flashes:  J. Miasek (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Maddox (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Dunn (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. S. Abuhamdeh (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Fisher (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. H. Hopperton (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Banks (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. DeShields (QB) Out - Undisclosed. G. Garcia (RB) Out - Knee.

Tennessee Volunteers:  K. Perry (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Seldon (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. M. Matthews (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. E. Okoye (DL) Out - Undisclosed. B. Staley (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Thomas (DB) Out - Knee.

“You have to tackle. That’s where it starts. You have to tackle the ball. You have to get it down. They’re going to have their success and we’re going ot give up some things at times but make sure you get the play down and try to limit the explosive plays. But I’d argue they’re just as good in the pass game so you’re going to rob Peter to pay Paul someway, somehow. Their quarterback is extremely talented. Very good young player who is playing at a very high level right now and they scored over 50 points in the first two games, I believe. So, again, the best defense to me is a really good offense. You have to play complimentary football. You have to keep them off the field and find ways to hang onto the ball and make sure their offense is on the sideline. But they’re a talented, talented group and we have our hands full with them.” - Kenni Burns on his team’s upcoming game against Tennessee this week. 

“He played within himself and responded well to adversity and that is one of the things we haven't seen from him. I am really proud of his demeanor.” - Josh Heupel after his team’s win against NCSU in their last game. 

WR McCray, Chrishon

WR Martin, Dashawn

WR Floriea, Luke 

TE Skehan, Charlie 

QB Kargman, Devin

RB Thomas, Ky 

WR McCoy, Bru 

WR Brazzell II, Chris

WR White, Squirrel 

TE Kitselman, Miles

QB Iamaleava, Nico 

RB Sampson, Dylan

FB Harrison, Cole

Passing: D. Kargman (374)

Rushing: K. Thomas (79)

Receiving: L. Floriea (196)

Touchdowns: L. Floriea (2)

Passing: N. Iamaleava (525)

Rushing: D. Sampson (256)

Receiving: D. Thornton (105)

Touchdowns: D. Sampson (5)

Coaches:

Kent State Golden Flashes: Kenni Burns (2nd season)

Tennessee Volunteers: Josh Heupel (4th season)