Tennessee Football: 3 bold predictions for 2022 opener vs. Ball State

1. Tennessee will not allow an offensive touchdown

A 61st-ranked defense in yards per play is not fantastic at all, but the Vols have enough guys on the defensive side of the ball to make problems. Anchoring the defense this year will be Jeremy Banks at linebacker. Banks was one of the top tacklers in the country last year and should be in the same position this year.

The Vols also get back Texas transfer Juwan Mitchell at the other backer spot and have a solid Trevon Flowers manning the backside of the defense. On the front four, Omari Thomas showed some ability to get into the backfield at times when he played last year.

Those factors are going to be huge problems for Ball State, who will presumably be starting a 5-foot-11 quarterback in John Paddock. He has only attempted 34 career passes and isn’t going to lend quite the same pop with his arm as prior quarterback Drew Plitt did.

There’s talent at the skill positions for Ball State, quite certainly. It’s just that the talent level only equated to an offense that was 113th in yards per play last year. Against an SEC foe, it will be exceptionally difficult for the Cardinals to muster anything more than field goals.