Ball State Cardinals vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, 9/1/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Tennessee Volunteers

Date: Thursday, September 1, 2022

Location: Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN

TV: SECN

Odds/Point Spread: Volunteers (-27.5)

Total/Over-Under: 70.5

The Ball State Cardinals (6-7 last season) are on their way to Neyland Stadium on Thursday where they will compete against the Tennessee Volunteers (7-6 last year). Ball State opens this game as 27.5-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 70.5.

The Ball State Cardinals finished the season with a 6-7 mark. The last time they took the field, the Cardinals faced off with the Georgia State Panthers and went home with a loss by a final score of 51-20. Drew Plitt finished 27/46 with 293 yards through the air and 1 touchdown. He had a QB rate of 115 and ended the contest with 1 pick. Carson Steele led the offense in rushing for the Cardinals with 15 totes for 62 yds (4.1 yards per attempt). For the game, they had 81 plays which gave them a total of 367 yards. The Ball State Cardinals ended up running the ball 35 different times and tallied 74 yds, earning them an average of 2.1 yds per attempt. On the ground, the Cardinals gave up 259 yards on 41 attempts, which calculates to 6.3 yards per rush surrendered. Ball State relinquished 17 completions on 21 tries for a total of 205 yds, and a completion percentage of 81.0%.

When talking about putting points on the board, the Ball State Cardinals averaged 24.1 points per contest. As a unit they averaged 131.1 yards rushing, giving them a rank of 95th in D-1. The Cardinals attained 4,403 total yards for last season. Ball State earned 18 passing touchdowns and 17 rushing touchdowns. Ball State earned 248 1st downs as a unit, and they were flagged for 64 infractions for 530 yds. They surrendered the football 12 times.

The Cardinals sat in 84th in the country when it comes to team defense, allowing 28.4 points per contest. Opposing teams ran for an average of 4.4 yards per running attempt and 176.7 yards on the ground per game throughout last season. Overall, they allowed 2,297 running yards through 13 outings. When talking about yards through the air, the Cardinals allowed 3,159 yds which ranked them 99th in the country. During their 13 games played last season, they gave up 243.0 yards per contest via the pass as well as allowing a completion percentage of 66.2%. They allowed 419.7 yards per game putting them 96th in Division 1. They conceded 17 passing touchdowns in addition to 22 running touchdowns.

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The Volunteers finished the season holding a 7-6 record. For their last game, the Volunteers walked away with a loss by a score of 48-45 when they faced the Purdue Boilermakers. Hendon Hooker (5 TDs) ended the contest with 378 yards on 26/42 passing while his QB rating was 176.8. He kept the ball away from the defense with no interceptions and his average yards per attempt was 9. Jabari Small carried the rock 26 times for 180 yards, finishing the contest with 6.9 yds per carry for Tennessee. The Volunteers finished the game with 666 yards while running 104 plays (6.4 yards per play). Tennessee rushed the football for 4.6 yds per carry, finishing the contest with 288 yds on 63 attempts. Tennessee surrendered 33 running attempts for 93 yds (2.8 yds per rush). The Volunteers secondary conceded a completion percentage of 54.2%, relinquishing 534 yards on 26 for 48 through the air.

Concerning how much they scored, the Volunteers ranked 7th in college football maintaining an average of 39.3 points per game. Last season, the Volunteers earned 3,344 passing yards in addition to an average of 257.2 passing yards per game, which had them ranked 40th in the country. The Tennessee Volunteers maintained an average of 474.6 yards per contest, which was good for 9th in Division 1. The Tennessee offense compiled 788 penalty yds on 88 violations, which had them sitting 29th in college football in terms of hurting your team.

Tennessee gave up a total of 1,931 yards on the ground (148.5 yards per contest) and 23 touchdowns via the rush last season. They gave up 23 touchdowns through the air in addition to 273.2 yards/contest, which had them sitting 122nd in D-1. The Volunteers defense took the field for 1,011 plays, which was 127th in D-1. The Volunteers conceded 29.1 PPG, which had them sitting 90th in Division 1. Over the course of the season, they relinquished 378 total points.

Who will win tonight's Cardinals/Volunteers college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Cardinals +27.5

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