Updating the Tennessee-Kent State betting lines
Tennessee Football opened as a huge favorite against Kent State back on Sunday, with the line initially set at 47.5. Still, it wasn’t big enough. The line moved to 49.5 points as of Friday afternoon, per The Action Network. The total opened at 63 and is now 62.5.
The Vols are -30.5 in the first half and -21.5 in the second half. The first quarter line is Tennessee -11.5, then -14.5 in the second quarter, -12.5 in the third and -13.5 in the fourth.
Saturday night’s game is scheduled for a 7:45 Eastern Time start and will be televised by SEC Network.
Tennessee has been favored by 40 or more points eight times since 1998. The Vols are 8-0 in those games but just 2-6 against the spread and 1-5 against the over/under. The 49.5-point spread is the biggest spread in favor of Tennessee since at least 1995.
Tennessee (2-0) covered as a 38-point favorite against Chattanooga in Week 1, winning 69-3 at Neyland Stadium. The Vols covered a 9-point spread against NC State in a 51-10 win in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
No. 7 Tennessee vs. Kent State, Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Kent State (0-2) lost 23-17 to St. Francis (PA) at home last week. The Red Flash, an FCS program in the Northeast Conference, led 20-7 late in the first half and ended the game with 402 total yards, running for 207 and passing for 195. St. Francis was a 19.5-point underdog before winning at Kent State.
Kent State went just 2-for-14 on third down and had just 280 total yards in the loss. The Golden Flashes dropped to 0-2 after losing 55-24 at Pitt last week.
Saturday night’s game will be the first between the Tennessee and Kent State football programs.
ESPN’s Football Power Index has Kent State ranked dead last at No. 134 overall in the FBS. The FPI projects Kent State to go 3-9 with just a 5.4% chance to win six games.
Tennessee is ranked No. 5 overall in the FPI with a projected win-loss record of 9.8-2.4. It gives the Vols a 99.8% chance to win six games, an 8.8% chance to win the SEC, a 65.5% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoff and a 13.1% chance to make it to the national championship game.
Vols went 7-6 against the spread last season
Tennessee went 7-6 against the spread last season. The Vols covered against South Carolina (-11.5), UTSA (-23.5), Texas A&M (-3), Kentucky (-4), Virginia (-27.5), UConn (-35) and Iowa (-6). They failed to cover against Austin Peay (-48.5), Florida (-5.5), Alabama (+8.5), Mizzou (-2.5), Georgia (+10.5) and Vanderbilt (-27).
After hosting Kent State on September 14, the Vols open SEC play with road games at Oklahoma (September 21) and at Arkansas (October 5).
Tennessee hosts Florida and Alabama back-to-back on October 12 and October 19, respectively, then has home games against Kentucky (November 2) and Mississippi State (November 9) before going to Georgia on November 16. The schedule ends with UTEP on November 23 and a trip to Vanderbilt on November 30.
