Tennessee football

SportsLine's model just revealed its CFB picks and predictions for Ball State vs. Tennessee on Thursday.

[Jayshon Jackson](/college-football/players/2964467/jayshon-jackson/). [Jaylen Wright](/college-football/players/26698774/jaylen-wright/) is another contributor for the Volunteers. The [Illinois](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/ILL/illinois-fighting-illini/) native led the team in catches (69) and receiving yards (825) to go with five scores. Junior running back [Jabari Small](/college-football/players/3171876/jabari-small/) is the lead back for Tennessee and he displayed that in 2021. [college football picks](https://www.sportsline.com/college-football/picks/) against the spread. The [North Carolina](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/UNC/north-carolina-tar-heels/) native logged 85 carries for 409 yards and four touchdowns. Ball State](https://www.sportsline.com/college-football/game-forecast/NCAAF_20220901_BALLST@TENN/) and just locked in its picks and CFB predictions. Here are several [college football odds](https://www.sportsline.com/college-football/odds/) and betting lines for Ball State vs. [You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks](https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/ball-state-vs-tennessee-line-picks-advanced-computer-college-football-model-releases-selections-for-week-one/#ttag=08302022_agg_cbssports_picks_football_ncaa_model_tennesseeballstatecfb). SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the point total, projecting the teams to combine for 62 points. [Tennessee Volunteers](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/TENN/tennessee-volunteers/) host the [Ball State Cardinals](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/BALLST/ball-state-cardinals/) in the 2022 season opener for both squads on Thursday evening. [Hendon Hooker](/college-football/players/2805110/hendon-hooker/) is back at quarterback and Tennessee also has a versatile backfield to help him out.

Thursday will mark the 16th time the Tennessee football Volunteers have opened a season on a day other than Saturday.

This launched a 5-7 season and was their last week in the top 25 until 2012. In fact, over a period of 87 years in the 20th century, only one time did the Vols not open the season on a Saturday. The Vols drove down to get a quick field goal as time expired, but Daniel Lincoln missed a potential game-tying field goal in overtime. There’s only one non-Saturday opener the Vols ever lost, and it was the beginning of the end for Phillip Fulmer. The flaws in the dynamics of Clawson’s offense given Fulmer’s philosophy would become evident later. In this post, we’ll compare all of their past such outings based on how memorable they were.

Tennessee: The Vols are coming off a better-than-expected first season under Josh Heupel, thanks to a superb offense that ranked top 10 in college football and ...

[Bookmark](https://si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq) He'll test the Vols' interior run stop early, but Ball State's back seven will struggle against Tennessee's excellent downfield passing attack. A win here could put UT in the AP top 25 before a trip to Pittsburgh next week.

New DraftKings users can claim this promo code and be eligible for a $200 bonus on any college football game (including the Vols). Simply place a $5 wager on ...

In terms of the opening game, this will be by far the biggest crowd to watch Ball State play a football game in 2022. But Tennessee finally appears to be moving in a positive direction, something you couldn’t say without smirking for most of the past few years. This should help if the unit is on the field a lot in 2022, which it will be once again. After a record-breaking 2021 season, they expect more of the same in 2022. New DraftKings users can claim this promo code and be eligible for a $200 bonus on any college football game (including the Vols). Its men’s basketball team came within a bucket of upsetting that historically great 1990 UNLV team in the NCAA Tournament.

Thursday's game represents the second consecutive Thursday season-opener against a Mid-American Conference opponent. The Vols defeated Bowling Green, 38-6, last ...

The Vols are 16-5-2 in games played at Neyland Stadium and hold a 27-21-7 all time mark in contests played on Thursday. The Vols defeated Louisville, 28-11, in 1991. Tennessee defeated Appalachian State, 20-13 in overtime to kick off the 2016 season.

There are certain items you should leave at the tailgate when heading inside Neyland Stadium this football season.

[here.](https://utsports.com/sports/2017/8/7/clear-bag-policy) [the website states.](https://utsports.com/sports/2017/8/7/clear-bag-policy) “No items can be left or stored at the gates.”

Linebacker Juwan Mitchell is among five Tennessee football players not playing against Ball State in the season opener Thursday.

Linebacker Juwan Mitchell is among five Tennessee football players not playing against Ball State in the season opener Thursday. Tennessee football linebacker Juwan Mitchell among 5 Vols out against Ball State in opener

Tennessee football takes on Ball State in the season-opening contest in Neyland Stadium. Here are three bold predictions for what will take place.

Jackson had a great year last year for Ball State, catching for 829 yards and five touchdowns last year. Although there’s a new quarterback for the Cardinals this year, Jackson should be enough of an impact player to get a few grabs that burn Tennessee’s secondary, especially given the Vols have pieces at the star position and corner to figure out. Yet, given the pace of play for Tennessee, the defense held up okay-ish; they were just 61st nationally in yards per play given up.

Josh Heupel's second season as head coach of the Tennessee football Volunteers begins Thursday night against the Ball State Cardinals.

They want to put on more of a show this year. On Defense, the Vols return their leaders in tackles, solo tackles, tackles for a loss, sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles with Byron Young, Jeremy Banks, Jaylen McCollough and Omari Thomas. That would suggest this is somewhat of a rebuilding year for the program, but don’t bank on that just yet. This time, they host the Ball State Cardinals, who are coming off a 6-7 season and back-to-back bowl appearances while entering Mike Neu’s seventh year. [Tennessee football](https://allfortennessee.com/football/) is set to kick off its second season under head coach Josh Heupel. The Vols enter this year with much higher expectations, and much less drama surrounding them, than they did last year.