Tennessee vs. UTSA considered a 'sneaky game' for the Volunteers

As Tennessee heads towards the end of September, many expect that they’ll be riding high off last year’s momentum with a 3-0 start ahead of SEC play. With that said, On3’s JD PicKell hopes that the Volunteers don’t make the mistake of overlooking the UTSA Roadrunners.

PicKell labeled UTSA at Tennessee as an under the radar game in the early portion of the upcoming college football season during a segment on ‘The Hard Count’. He did recognize that the Vols will be favored, potentially heavily, in Knoxville over that opponent. Even so, PicKell sees it as a prime place to trip up if Tennessee is feeling itself after returning from Gainesville.

“Tennessee has the better roster, Tennessee should win this game. Tennessee will be favored in this game, maybe by double-digits. We’ll see what happens,” said PicKell. “But, for Tennessee, they play the week before at Florida. That’ll be an enormous game, could be a College GameDay kind of atmosphere. It’ll be in The Swamp. If Tennessee wins that football game like Joe Milton has implied? That would be their first time winning in The Swamp in 20 years – since 2003.”

“What does that mean for this UTSA game? If they come off that game having beaten Florida? That is an enormous letdown spot! An enormous letdown spot,” PicKell said.

If UTSA has a prayer of a chance on Rocky Top, PicKell knows that QB Frank Harris will eventually be at the forefront. After posting over 4,600 yards of offense and over 40 scores last season, he sees the seventh-year quarterback as a player who could easily take advantage of Tennessee’s defensive deficiencies.

“For UTSA, they’ve got a quarterback named Frank Harris who is the best player in the country that nobody is talking about, that nobody has probably even heard of,” said PicKell. “He put up over 4,000 yards passing last year, over 40 total touchdowns. The dude can absolutely deal the pill like a shady pharmacist. The dude can play some football now.”

At that point, PicKell set the scene for what could take place in Neyland Stadium on September 23rd. If the Volunteers come out sluggish after a major conference win the week prior, he thinks the Roadrunners could punch them early in a way that Tennessee might not be guaranteed to come back from.

“Imagine a world where Tennessee, offensively, kind of has that Florida hangover. They got a big win the weekend before and they’re kind of taking a second to get rolling. And then UTSA, once you know it, is out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter,” PicKell explained. “At that point, Frank Harris is feeling himself, he’s got some mojo now. He’s kind of in the zone now. And, for Tennessee, if that secondary doesn’t step it up and find a way to put a cap on the back end of that defense? And Joe Milton and company are sluggish to get this thing rolling? It’s going to get very, very interesting.”

Again, PicKell knows the kind of favorite that Tennessee will be overall versus UTSA. Even so, he also understands that there’s a very clear way in which the Roadrunners could shock some people and pick up one of the season’s better road wins, especially by a program outside of the Power Five.

“If Tennessee comes out and plays the way that they’re capable of playing? We won’t even be talking about it. It’ll be a JV special by the fourth quarter and Tennessee will have their backups in,” said PicKell. “But there is a path there, there is a very real way where Tennessee could be on the ropes if UTSA comes out swinging and Tennessee has a little bit of a Florida hangover.”