Obviously.
The Tennessee Volunteers are flying high after a white hot start to the 2024 season. Not only do they have a budding superstar in quarterback Nico Iamaleava, but they proved to the rest of the country that you better not sleep on their defense either.
The Volunteers dismantled NC State on Saturday night in Charlotte, overwhelming the Wolfpack up front to cruise to a 51-10 win. It was a true statement win for Josh Heupel and company, showing Tennessee is more than just a spread offense and tempo.
Focus now turns to Kent State, who will come Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. The Golden Flashes are coming off of a really bad loss to Saint Francis last weekend — a game where they were 19.5 point favorites. Kent State now runs into one of the best teams in the country, staring down the challenge of heading into one of college football’s toughest environment.
Tennessee has opened as a 48-point favorite. The total sits at 62.5.
Iamaleava and the Tennessee offense smacked Chattanooga back in week one in a similar spot. Heupel pulled the starters after a half of play with the game well in hand. You can probably expect a similar result here, with a chance for the Volunteers to build some more depth ahead of SEC play.
Is Tennessee in a look-ahead spot here? Absolutely. It shouldn’t matter, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if we saw a couple sloppy moments here and there with a trip to Oklahoma up next (Sept. 21).