Game of the Week
Virginia Tech (1-0) vs.
Tennessee (1-0)
8 p.m. EST
Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn.
ABC
Tennessee -11 — O/U 53.5
No matter what happens Saturday night, something remarkable is going to take place. For three years, the college football attendance record has stood at 115,109 – a number that was set when ultra-popular Notre Dame visited ultra-huge Michigan Stadium to play the Wolverines. While neither Tennessee nor Virginia Tech is as broadly popular as Notre Dame, and neither stadium has the capacity to break the record, none of those factors will matter on Saturday night. When the Vols and Hokies meet at Bristol Motor Speedway, the crowd is expected to hit at least 150,000 – a new record that may never be surpassed .(That is unless future games are scheduled at other specially configured NASCAR venues. On a side note, East Tennessee State will play Western Carolina on the same field next week, but it’s doubtful that crowd will reach as high – the two schools’ combined stadium capacity reaches just upward of 20,000.) With all of the focus on the venue and crowd size, there will definitely be a game taking place on the field between two teams that won on opening day. Tennessee had to go to overtime to beat Appalachian State 20-13, and Virginia Tech easily dispatched FCS Liberty 36-13. While Tennessee’s defense finally responded in the second half against Appalachian State, the Vols’ vaunted rushing attack didn’t make much of an impact, in spite of Jalen Hurd rushing for 110 yards. QB Joshua Dobbs was spotty, but ultimately effective. Virginia Tech was dominant on both side of the ball against Liberty, but that was to be expected. QB Jerod Evans controlled the game with ease, both with his arm and with his legs. WR Isaiah Ford was busy all night, hauling in 11 passes for 117 yards, and CB Greg Stroman snagged two of the Hokies three interceptions. Despite early thoughts that this might be an easy matchup for Tennessee, it will be nothing of the sort. Coach Justin Fuente has opened up Tech’s offense, so expect the Hokies to try to stretch the field all night. Tennessee has the defensive backs to shut that down – mostly. Tech will get two or three scores, plus a field goal or two. But Tennessee’s real offense will show up and get just enough separation to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Prediction: Tennessee 30, Virginia Tech 20
Result: Tennessee 45, Virginia Tech 20. For the second week in a row, Tennessee dug itself a fairly deep hole, falling behind the Hokies 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. But an offensive miscue by Virginia Tech gave the Vols some instant momentum, and Tennessee never looked back on its way to a sizeable win. Joshua Dobbs completed only 10 passes for 91 yards, but three of those went for TDs. Dobbs and Jalen Hurd controlled the Hokies on the ground, combining for 36 carries and 205 yards. Even in victory, Tennessee was not as dominant as the score. Virginia Tech outgained Tennessee by 70 yards, and picked up five more first downs. The Vols have virtually no passing attack and could struggle against more aggressive SEC competition as the year progresses. Even in defeat, Justin Fuente’s club should have some positive points to build on moving forward, but must figure out how to close out drives with touchdowns if the Hokies are to have any success in the ACC. The big winner was Bristol Motor Speedway, which shattered the college football attendance record with a total of 156,990.
Record:
This week: SU – 64-11; ATS – 23-22-1; O/U – 23-22-1
Overall: SU – 132-28; ATS – 42-43-1; O/U – 43-40-3
Upsets are bold underlined
(Results in parentheses; wins are underlined; losses in italics)
| Friday, Sept. 9 | |||
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV Coverage | Prediction |
| Maryland (-10) at FIU (O/U 57.5) | 7:30 p.m. |  |
Maryland, 28-17 (Maryland, 41-14) |
| Louisiville (-14.5) at Syracuse (O/U 65.5) | 8 p.m. |  |
Louisville, 42-17 (Louisville, 62-28) |
| Saturday, Sept. 10 | |||
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV Coverage | Prediction |
| Central Michigan (+21) at Oklahoma State (O/U 61) | Noon |  |
Oklahoma State 38-24 (Central Michigan, 30-27) |
| N.C. State (-4.5) at East Carolina (O/U 56) | Noon |  |
N.C. State, 24-17 (East Carolina, 33-30) |
| Penn State (+5) at Pittsburgh (O/U 47.5) | Noon |   |
Penn State, 23-17 (Pittsburgh, 42-39) |
| UCF (+35) at Michigan (O/U 54.5) | Noon | |
Michigan, 56-7 (Michigan, 51-14) |
| Cincinnati (-6) at Purdue (O/U 59.5) | Noon |  |
Cincinnati, 34-24 (Cincinnati, 38-20) |
| Lamar (NL) at Houston | Noon |  |
Houston, 45-10 (Houston, 42-0) |
| Howard (NL) at Rutgers | Noon | |
Rutgers, 38-3 (Rutgers, 52-20) |
| Indiana State (NL) at Minnesota | Noon |  |
Minnesota, 42-20 (Minnesota, 52-28) |
| Rice (+9.5) at Army (O/U 52.5) | Noon | |
Army, 27-17 (Army, 31-14) |
| Boston College (-16) at Massachusetts (O/U 39.5) | Noon | |
Boston College, 17-7 (Boston College, 26-7) |
| Nicholls State (NL) at Georgia | Noon |  |
Georgia, 45-0 (Georgia, 26-24) |
| Prairie View A&M at Texas A&M | Noon | |
Texas A&M, 52-10 (Texas A&M, 67-0) |
| Wyoming (+24.5) at Nebraska (O/U 58) | Noon | |
Nebraska, 38-21 (Nebraska, 52-17) |
| Charleston Southern (NL) at Florida State | 12:30 p.m. | |
Florida State, 51-7 (Florida State, 52-8) |
| Troy (+36) at Clemson (O/U 63.5) | 12:30 p.m. |  |
Clemson, 51-17 (Clemson, 30-26) |
| Stony Brook (NL) at Temple | 1 p.m. | |
Temple, 21-17 (Temple, 38-0) |
| Georgia State (+20) at Air Force (O/U 54) | 2 p.m. |  |
Air Force, 41-17 (Air Force, 48-14) |
| Utah State (+16.5) at USC (O/U 59) | 2 p.m. |  |
USC, 31-24 (USC, 45-7) |
| Youngstown State (NL) at West Virginia | 2 p.m. | West Virginia, 28-17 (West Virginia, 38-21) |
|
| Ohio (+3) at Kansas (O/U 59.5) | 2:30 p.m. |  |
Ohio, 34-27 (Ohio, 37-21) |
| Mercer (NL) at Georgia Tech | 3 p.m. |  |
Georgia Tech, 31-17 (Georgia Tech, 35-10) |
| North Dakota (NL) at Bowling Green | 3:30 p.m. |  |
Bowling Green, 42-21 (Bowling Green, 27-26) |
| Connecticut (+4) at Navy (O/U 45) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Navy, 34-20 (Navy, 28-24) |
| Illinois State (NL) at Northwestern | 3:30 p.m. | |
Northwestern, 27-21 (Illinois State, 9-7) |
| Tulsa (+29) at Ohio State (O/U 73.5) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Ohio State, 49-21 (Ohio State, 48-3) |
| Eastern Illinois (NL) at Miami (Ohio) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Miami (Ohio), 24-21 (Eastern Illinois, 21-17) |
| Wake Forest (+5) at Duke (O/U 44.5) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Duke, 27-17 (Wake Forest, 24-14) |
| Old Dominion (+21) at Appalachian State (O/U 54.5) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Appalachian State, 38-20 (Appalachian State, 31-7) |
| Akron (+24) at Wisconsin (O/U 47.5) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Wisconsin, 31-10 (Wisconsin, 54-10) |
| Nevada (+28) at Notre Dame (O/U 61) | 3:30 p.m. |  |
Notre Dame, 41-17 (Notre Dame, 39-10) |
| Kentucky (+16.5) at Florida (O/U 49) | 3:30 p.m. |  |
Florida, 35-10 (Florida, 45-7) |
| Western Kentucky (-28.5) at Alabama (O/U 61.5) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Alabama, 45-20 (Alabama, 38-10) |
| SMU (+31.5) at Baylor (O/U 76) | 3:30 p.m. | |
Baylor, 59-20 (Baylor, 40-13) |
| Wofford (NL) at Ole Miss | 4 p.m. | |
Ole Miss, 56-10 (Ole Miss, 38-13) |
| Ball State (+17) at Indiana (O/U 61) | 4 p.m. | |
Indiana 45-17 (Indiana, 30-20) |
| UTSA (+10) at Colorado State (O/U 54) | 4 p.m. | |
Colorado State, 31-20 (Colorado State, 23-14) |
| Middle Tennessee (+5) at Vanderbilt (O/U 47.5) | 4 p.m. | |
Middle Tennessee, 24-20 (Vanderbilt, 47-24) |
| Portland State (NL) at San Jose State | 4:30 p.m. | Portland State, 31-27 (San Jose State, 65-35) |
|
| Idaho (+37) at Washington (O/U 60) | 5 p.m. | |
Washington, 48-14 (Washington, 59-14) |
| Idaho State (NL) at Colorado | 5:30 p.m. | |
Colorado, 48-3 (Colorado, 56-7) |
| Morgan State (NL) at Marshall | 6 p.m. |  |
Marshall, 55-0 (Marshall, 62-0) |
| Elon (NL) at Charlotte | 6 p.m. |  |
Charlotte, 27-7 (Charlotte, 47-14) |
| N.C. A&T (NL) at Kent State | 6 p.m. | |
N.C. A&T, 24-21 (N.C. A&T, 39-36 4OT) |
| Florida Atlantic (+24.5) at Miami (Fla.) (O/U 62) | 6 p.m. | |
Miami, 48-21 (Miami, 38-10) |
| Georgia Southern (-13.5) at South Alabama (O/U 58) | 7 p.m. | |
Georgia Southern, 38-17 (Georgia Southern, 24-9) |
| McNeese State (NL) at Louisiana | 7 p.m. | |
McNeese State, 27-21 (Louisiana, 30-22) |
| ULM (+46.5) at Oklahoma (O/U 65) | 7 p.m. |  |
Oklahoma 63-7 (Oklahoma, 59-17) |
| N.C. Central (NL) at Western Michigan | 7 p.m. | |
Western Michigan, 56-3 (Western Michigan, 70-21) |
| Maine (NL) at Toledo | 7 p.m. | |
Toledo, 49-14 (Toledo, 45-3) |
| Northern Illinois (+15) at USF (O/U 57) | 7 p.m. | |
USF, 35-24 (USF, 48-17) |
| Bethune-Cookman (NL) at North Texas | 7 p.m. | |
North Texas, 21-14 (North Texas, 41-20) |
| South Carolina State (NL) at Louisiana Tech | 7 p.m. | |
Louisiana Tech, 51-10 (Louisiana Tech, 53-24) |
| Savannah State (NL) at Southern Miss | 7 p.m. | Southern Miss, 58-14 (Southern Miss, 56-0) |
|
| UTEP (+28.5) at Texas (O/U 59.5) | 7 p.m. |  |
Texas, 48-17 (Texas, 41-7) |
| South Carolina (+6.5) at Mississippi State (O/U 45) | 7 p.m. | |
Mississippi State, 27-20 (Mississippi State, 27-14) |
| Arkansas (+7.5) at TCU (O/U 58.5) | 7 p.m. | |
TCU, 38-30 (Arkansas, 41-38 2OT) |
| Arkansas State (+19) at Auburn (O/U 54.5) | 7:30 p.m. | |
Auburn, 27-20 (Auburn, 51-14) |
| Iowa State (+15) at Iowa (O/U 51) | 7:30 p.m. | |
Iowa, 31-14 (Iowa, 42-3) |
| BYU (+3.5) at Utah (O/U 45) | 7:30 p.m. |  |
Utah, 27-23 (Utah, 20-19) |
| Eastern Michigan (+25) at Missouri (O/U 57.5) | 7:30 p.m. | |
Missouri, 34-14 (Missouri, 61-21) |
| Jacksonville State (NL) at LSU | 7:30 p.m. | |
LSU, 45-17 (LSU, 34-13) |
| North Carolina (-7.5) at Illinois (O/U 58) | 7:30 p.m. | |
North Carolina, 35-24 (North Carolina, 48-23) |
| Southern (NL) at Tulane | 8 p.m. | |
Tulane, 27-13 (Tulane, 66-21) |
| Virginia Tech (+11) vs. Tennessee (at Bristol) (O/U 53.5) | 8 p.m. | |
Tennessee, 30-20 (Tennessee, 45-20) |
| UNLV (+26) at UCLA (O/U 58.5) | 8 p.m. | |
UCLA, 42-17 (UCLA, 42-21) |
| New Mexico (-12.5) at New Mexico State (O/U 63) | 8 p.m. |  |
New Mexico, 38-24 (New Mexico State, 32-31) |
| Sacramento State (NL) at Fresno State | 10 p.m. | Fresno State, 23-14 (Fresno State, 31-3) |
|
| Texas Tech (+2.5) at Arizona State (O/U 80) | 10 p.m. | |
Arizona State, 44-37 (Arizona State, 68-55) |
| Washington State (+11) at Boise State (O/U 74) | 10:15 p.m. | |
Boise State, 42-30 (Boise State, 31-28) |
| California (+7) at San Diego State (O/U 61) | 10:30 p.m. | |
San Diego State, 34-24 (San Diego State, 45-40) |
| Virginia (+24.5) at Oregon (O/U 70.5) | 10:30 p.m. | |
Oregon 45-21 (Oregon, 44-26) |
| Grambling (NL) at Arizona | 10:45 p.m. | |
Arizona, 42-14 (GArizona, 31-21) |
| Tennessee-Martin (NL) at Hawaii | 11:59 p.m. | Hawaii, 48-14 (Hawaii, 41-36) |
Copyright © 2016 Doug DeBolt
