Tennessee football: Game-by-game predictions for Vols 2019 season
Game Two
BYU Cougars at Tennessee Volunteers
Saturday, Sept. 7; Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tenn.
This will be the watershed moment for Tennessee football and alcohol, as Neyland Stadium will be implementing alcohol sales in this game. More importantly, however, is the game itself against the BYU Cougars.
Vols fans are excited about BYU being their most high-profile opponent this year, as on paper they should be much easier than the West Virginia Mountaineers were last year. Entering his fourth year with the program, Kalani Sitake has done a good job maintaining what Bronco Mendenhall built and then developing the program in his own image.
Last year, BYU went from 4-9 to 7-6. They now have really high expectations with Zach Wilson at quarterback and could take another elite step this year, so despite being a bit easier, the Vols can’t take this team lightly.
An offense that returns everybody and was among the best at the end of last season combined with a very solid defense makes this a dangerous team. And UT’s turnaround season could be derailed by a loss here. Simply put, this is not a game to assume anything about.
Prediction
BYU is going to make this a game. The Cougars are too good offensively, and the Vols will trying to be finding themselves on the defensive line. Combine that with a decent defense, and BYU will keep it close until the fourth quarter. Jeremy Pruitt’s team wins in ugly fashion that starts to scare some people.
Tennessee: 31 BYU: 27