Tennessee Volunteers vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 9/2/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023

Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Cavaliers (+26)

Total/Over-Under: 57.5

The Virginia Cavaliers (3-7 last year) host the Tennessee Volunteers (11-2 last season) at Nissan Stadium on Saturday, September 2, 2023. Virginia is 26-point underdogs. The over/under is 57.5.

The Tennessee Volunteers finished the season having a 11-2 record. In their last contest, the Volunteers played the Clemson Tigers and notched a win by a score of 31-14. Joe Milton connected on 19/28 with 251 yds through the air and 3 touchdowns. He had a quarterback rating of 178.5 and finished the contest without throwing an interception. Jaylen Wright was the rushing leader for the Volunteers with 11 totes for 89 yds (8.1 yds per attempt). The Tennessee Volunteers ended up running the ball 38 times and compiled 124 yds, which earned them an average of 3.3 yards per attempt. At the end of the game, they ran 66 plays which totaled 375 yards. Tennessee relinquished 30 completions on 56 tries for a total of 320 yards, and a completion rate of 53.6%. When it came to stopping the run, the Volunteers gave up 164 yards on 45 tries, which averages out to 3.6 yds per rush surrendered.

The Volunteers earned 6,832 total yards for the prior campaign. Tennessee earned 38 touchdowns via the pass and 40 touchdowns via the ground. They turned the ball over 10 different times. Tennessee accumulated 330 1st downs as an offense, and they were hurt by 105 infractions for 905 yds. Offensively they maintained an average of 199.5 yards in the run game, which ranked them 26th in college football. When it comes to getting in the endzone, the Tennessee Volunteers averaged 46.1 points per game.

The Volunteers were sitting in 37th in the country regarding the opposition scoring, allowing 22.8 points per game. They gave up 3.3 yards per rush and 115.8 rushing yards per game throughout last year. Overall, they allowed 1,505 running yards through 13 games. Regarding yards via the pass, the Volunteers allowed 3,764 yds which had them sitting in 126th in D-1. During their 13 games played, they conceded 289.5 yards per game through the air and surrendering a completion percentage of 62.6%. They gave up 405.3 yards per game which ranked them 91st in the nation. They allowed 21 touchdowns through the air in addition to 16 running touchdowns.

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The Cavaliers wrapped up their season holding a 3-7 record. The last time they took the field, the Cavaliers took a defeat with a final score of 37-7 when they faced the Pittsburgh Panthers. Brennan Armstrong (1 TD) ended the contest with 152 yards on 17/33 passing while his QB rate was 88.1. He had 2 interceptions and his average yards per attempt was 4.6. Mike Hollins carried the football 8 times for 23 yards, ending the contest with 2.9 yards per attempt for Virginia. The Cavaliers finished the contest with a total of 144 yds and they ran 57 plays (2.5 yards per play). Virginia ended up running for -0.3 yards per carry, totaling -8 yards on 24 attempts. Virginia gave up 48 run attempts for 189 yds (3.9 yards per rush). The Cavaliers secondary gave up a completion percentage of 58.3%, surrendering 208 yds on 14 for 24 passing.

In relation to their ability to score points, the Cavaliers were ranked 126th in the nation averaging 17.0 PPG. Last season, the Cavaliers compiled 2,210 passing yards along with averaging 221.0 throwing yards per contest, which had them ranked 81st in D-1. The Virginia Cavaliers averaged 344.1 yards per contest, which had them sitting 103rd in the country. The Virginia offense had 622 yds of penalties on 70 violations, which ranked them 87th in Division 1 in terms of making mistakes.

Virginia gave up a total of 1,532 yards on the ground (153.2 yards per game) in addition to 12 touchdowns via the rush last season. They allowed the opposition 10 touchdowns through the air in addition to 204.4 yards per game, which had them sitting 30th in Division 1. The Cavaliers defense took the field for 719 plays, which was good for 4th in Division 1. The Cavaliers conceded 24.0 points per contest, which had them sitting 49th in the country. Overall, they gave up 240 total points.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Cavaliers +26

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