It’s week three and the Vols are headed home! After two winning weeks in a row, Tennessee will host the Akron Zips in Neyland Stadium on Saturday. Last week the Panthers forced the Vols to work for their win. This week a big orange win should come much more easily. Tennessee vs. Akron kicks off at 7:00 PM EST on Saturday.
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Tennessee vs. Akron: What to Expect
Like the Ball State Cardinals before them, the Akron Zips are unlikely to fare well against the Vols.
Led by first-year head coach Joe Moorhead, the Zips are 1-1 right now. They’re fresh off a 52-0 loss to the Michigan State Spartans, and a 1-11 season in 2021. Akron’s football program is the poster child for a rebuilding period.
The Vols do not need to play their starters for all of this game. Likely the starting lineup won’t need to be on the field beyond maybe the first quarter and a half. This game will be a great opportunity for younger and less experienced players to get a few reps in and spend some quality time under the Neyland lights.
The Zips will score some points, but the Vols will run away with this one pretty easily. It will look a lot like the opener two weeks ago and will serve as a reset for the starting lineup ahead of next week’s game against the Gators.
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Taking a Gamble
Right now, Tennessee is the seven touchdown favorite to win this game. The question this week is not whether or not Tennessee win, it is whether or not they will cover the spread.
Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Vols are projected to win at -47.5. The over/under is set at 66.5. If you think you’ve seen this film before, you’re close; the odds were also heavily in Tennessee’s favor against Ball State.
Much has been made of the speed of the Vols’ offense. Last season we often saw them explode out of the gate early and ride that momentum to the end. This season, they’ve started both games off more slowly than anticipated. This was a contributing factor on the hard fought road to last week’s victory at Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, they’ve gotten the job done twice in a row.
Tennessee will rest their starters earlier and play more of their roster this week but they will lock in an easy win all the same. Like week one, the spread this week is a huge amount of points but I’m confident! I’m taking the Vols to cover it (and then some).
For a post-game, post-gamble recap check out The University of Tennessee on Gridiron Heroics on Sunday!
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