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Tennessee football’s best prop bets against Ball State

By Caleb Calhoun

The Tennessee football team runs through the T during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football
The Tennessee football team runs through the T during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football /
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Sep 22, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium during the fourth quarter of the game between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida won 47 to 21. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 22, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium during the fourth quarter of the game between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida won 47 to 21. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

Prop bet No. 3

First half over/under: Under 39.5

This bet is tough because we just don’t know what to make of Ball State’s offense. They return a ton of talent, including both tackle spots, their leading receiver and their leading rusher. Obviously, though, they have a new quarterback, replacing Drew Plitt with John Paddock, and that makes it hard to know exactly what will happen early on.

Assuming it takes too long for Ball State to get going, the best bet here is to play the under. If the Cardinals put up points, it’ll likely come in the second half, when they get settled in more and when the Vols pull their starters for having such a big lead. Early on, though, it’s hard to see that happening given the state of the program.

While the Vols will do their part, they only scored more than 39 points in the first half once last year. They’ll have to carry the over/under for that half. Even if they break 60, they often do it late in games, building off of their epic first quarter run, and that’s a safe assumption here.

What makes this more intriguing is that while the Vols are a bad second-quarter team, Ball State was also a bad second-quarter team last year. That combined with their transitions making them struggle in the first quarter is enough to say they won’t score that much.

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