All eyes will be on Charlotte, N.C., where the Tennessee Volunteers look to start off their new regime right against No. 17 West Virginia football.
West Virginia boasted the 22nd-ranked scoring offense in all of the FBS last season and that was without Florida-transfer quarterback Will Grier for the final four games of the season. Grier declined the option to go to the NFL and will play his redshirt senior season with a plethora of talent around him in David Sills V and Gary Jennings Jr.
West Virginia finished fourth in the Big 12 in 2017 and the loss of Mason Rudolph and Baker Mayfield makes it anyone’s game in the conference this season.
Tennessee’s coaching change last season proved to be more dramatic than Days of Our Lives. After finally settling on Jeremy Pruitt, the Volunteers begin their trek back to the top of the SEC East and once again reach national prominence. The Volunteers’ defense will undoubtedly look improved with a coach with Pruitt’s track record, but can he improve an offense that finished 118th in the nation in scoring offense a season ago.
With both teams gearing up for Saturday, let’s take a look into the matchup and the key players involved.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 1
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Charlotte, N.C.
Venue: Bank of America Stadium
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBSSports
Players to Watch
Tennessee
- RB, Ty Chandler
- WRs, Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway
- QBs, Keller Chryst and Jarrett Guarantano
- Safeties, Nigel Warrior and Micah Abernathy
- OLB, Darrell Taylor
West Virginia
- QB, Will Grier
- WRs, David Sills V, Gary Jennings Jr., Marcus Simms, TJ Simmons
- SPUR, Dravon Askew-Henry
- SAM, Charlie Benton
- RB, Kennedy McKoy
Keys to Victory
Obviously, Jeremy Pruitt wants to start off his head coaching tenure with a huge win over the No. 17 team in the nation. Pruitt, for starters, is going to need to find something in this offense that can score and do that all game long. Ty Chandler showed flashes of potential last season against Kentucky and a strong run game can help the Vols control the clock and slow the game down.
After finding a way to score, however, Pruitt needs to have taken advantage of the six returning starters from Tennessee’s third-ranked pass defense and prepared them to take on one of the best passing attacks in college football this season.
West Virginia’s path to victory is far simpler than Tennessee’s. The Mountaineers just need to do the one thing that many aren’t sure that the Vols can do: score. West Virginia returns seven starters from last year’s 13th ranked passing offense and the only big offensive piece they lost that wasn’t a lineman was 1,000-yard rusher Justin Crawford.
Will Grier is back, 18-touchdown receiver David Sills V is back, 97-reception receiver Gary Jennings Jr. is back and four offensive linemen return. Plain and simple, Dana Holgorsen, just score and quit worrying about Tennessee’s depth chart.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of Oddshark
Points Spread: WVU -10
Over/Under: 61.5
Prediction
Lets not over complicate things, West Virginia is going to win this game. Charlotte is closer to Knoxville giving the Vols the fan advantage but West Virginia is simply that much better on offense than Tennessee. Mountaineers win this one with room to breathe.
Final Score: West Virginia 31, Tennessee 17