On a balmy Thursday night, the Tennessee football will kick off the season against Ball State. Here are three bold predictions.
A lot has changed for both teams over the past 24 months. For Tennessee football, it’s seen the sacking of one coach, the hiring of another, and an explosive offense that followed. Ball State, meanwhile, went from MAC champion in 2020 to a somewhat disappointing 6-7 in 2021.
They meet in a newly-renovated Neyland Stadium, and although Ball State is a 35-point underdog, it’s still the first opportunity to see a Vol offense with some familiar faces, along with some new ones.
3. Jayshon Jackson will post at least 75 yards against the Vols
The Vols’ defense was panned last year, but it actually wasn’t so bad. Sure, they gave up 441.9 yards per game against FBS foes and were ranked 105th nationally. 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.
However, the team had problems with pass defense, as passers threw for an average of 7.5 yards per attempt, which was 72nd nationally.
Enter Jayshon Jackson. 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.