Tennessee football vs Kent State: Everything you need to know

Tennessee football started the 2024 season as one of the hottest teams in college football, immediately emerging as College Football Playoff contenders after the first two weeks of the year. 

The Vols have outscored their opponents 120-13 in the first two games of the season, which include wins over Chattanooga and No. 24 NC State in a neutral venue in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Kent State has had the opposite start of the season, starting the year 0-2 and hoping to build some positive momentum in their second road trip of the season. The Golden Flashes lost 55-24 at Pitt in Week One and returned home in Week Two but lost 23-17 to St. Francis, PA. 

Matchup History

This will be the first-ever matchup between Tennessee and Kent State. The Vols and Golden Flashes have never met on the gridiron before this Saturday, but that will end as Tennessee prepares to open the offensive floodgates again against an inferior opponent. 

Betting Lines

Tennessee is a heavy favorite in this one, to no one's surprise. The Vols are expected to handle business in this game as their final "tune-up" game before entering SEC play against Oklahoma next week. 

According to FanDuel, Tennessee is a 49.5-point favorite at the time of this writing. The Over/Under is set at 62.5 points, which means Vegas is assuming the Vols will win with an approximate score of 56-7 or 59-3. 

Not Looking Ahead

The only issue Tennessee could face in this game comes with looking past Kent State. The Vols have a pivotal matchup with Oklahoma in Week Four to open SEC play. The Vols could be looking ahead to that game, which has caused issues for some teams in the past. 

As long as the Vols don't look too far ahead to the Sooners, the Vols shouldn't have any trouble putting away Kent State and handling business before preparing for one of the biggest games on their schedule this season. 

Kickoff and Broadcast

Tennessee and Kent State are scheduled to kick off at 7:45 PM ET. Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana earlier in the week, threatening rain and storms, but it looks like we could avoid the rain Saturday night. 

The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Tom Hart will be the play-by-play broadcaster, and Jordan Rodgers will join in the booth with Cole Cubelic on the sidelines.