Tennessee football vs. Ball State: Betting odds and prediction for NCAA Week 1 Thursday matchup
For the second straight year, Tennessee football opens up the regular season on a Thursday night against a MAC opponent. UT welcomes the Ball State Cardinals to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., for the first matchup ever between the two schools. After these two play, the Vols will have played half the MAC at some point in history.
Looking to build off their 7-6 campaign in Josh Heupel’s inaugural season and to get back in the win column after last year’s Music City Bowl loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, the Vols enter 2022 with lots of cautious optimism. Returning weapons like Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman helps, but they have questions on defense.
Meanwhile, Ball State enters its seventh season under Neu. Last year was the program’s second straight bowl season, the only two with Neu at the helm, as it went 6-7. They are two years removed from winning the MAC with a 9-1 record and replace most of their offense, notably quarterback Drew Plitt.
Ball State Cardinals at Tennessee Volunteers Week 1 odds
According to the WynnBET betting odds, Tennessee football is a 35-point favorite to win this game. The over/under, meanwhile, is set at 68, so if the spread were accurate, the score would be the Vols winning in the range of 52-17, 51-17, 51-16 or 52-16. There is no moneyline set for this matchup on Thursday.
Ball State Cardinals at Tennessee Volunteers prediction
No moneyline being set should already give you an idea as to how confident the oddsmakers are in the Vols to win this game. If they’re that confident, shouldn’t they cover the spread despite how large it is? Well, that may be a bit more in question.
Remember, last year, Tennessee football had an ugly win on Thursday to open the season against the Bowling Green Falcons. Sure, they won 38-6, but the offense stalled after the first quarter for a while, and it was only 14-6 at halftime. Everybody was concerned after that win.
One thing makes this year’s opener different, though. Hendon Hooker is the starter at quarterback. Last year, Joe Milton III was the starter, and he had major issues with accuracy. There should have been about three more touchdowns in the game, but overthrows cost the Vols.
Hooker will miss on some deep balls, but for the most part, he’ll connect. Ball State may return a good bit of defensive talent, but it’s nowhere near enough to stop the offense Heupel has. Meanwhile, their offense is too young to make any sort of impact on UT’s defense.
Although Ball State has had two winning seasons, last year was with a veteran team, and 2020 was a fluke. The COVID issues affected everybody. As a result, it’s a much safer bet that they take a huge step back this year and return to what they previously were under Neu.
Predicting every game on Vols' 2022 schedule. dark. Next
Because of those factors, yes, the Vols will cover. Take Tennessee -35. Their offense will go off in this one, actually, and it’ll be one of their 60-point performances. That will be enough for this game to hit the Over 68 as well, as despite Ball State’s issues, they will get a couple scores late on Tennessee football. The Vols will win easily, though. Tennessee: 62 Ball State: 27