Every team comes into the season with a certain level of expectation laid on their shoulders, and every one of them very quickly learns that living up to that might not be as easy as it seems. The Tennessee Volunteers are the betting odds favorite to win the SEC East, as the general consensus is that they have a star QB in Joshua Dobbs who can lead this team to the Promised Land. The Volunteers have started the season 2-0, which everyone expected, but they have done it in a way that has not been very easy on the eye. They head back home this week after playing in front of a massive crowd at Bristol Speedway last weekend, and they are set to face an Ohio Bobcats team that seem intent on springing an upset. The Vols are a huge online betting favorite in this one, but do their opening two performances indicate that they can go out this weekend and cover the spread? Let’s take a look and see.

A Closer Look At The Bobcats at Volunteers College Football Winning Favorites

When: Saturday, September 17 at 12 PM EST Where: Neyland Field, Knoxville TV: SEC Network Live Stream: Watch ESPN NCAAF Odds: Tennessee Volunteers -27½    

Why bet on the Ohio Bobcats

The Ohio Bobcats bounced back from a tough 56-54 opening week loss to get their first win of the season against Kansas last weekend. This is a defense that has been built to stop the run, and they did that brilliantly last week, keeping Kansas to just 26 yards on 15 running attempts. Since Tennessee has routinely had to turn to the running game to get the offense going this season, you feel that the Bobcats might be able to capitalize if that happens again. Ohio are also going to be looking at making big defensive plays. Their defense has 6 turnovers in the opening two weeks of the season, and you can bet they will be doing all they can to force Dobb’s into making poor decisions.

Why bet on the Tennessee Volunteers

It has been a strange start to the season for the Volunteers, and one that they are going to have to improve on if they are to live up to all the preseason hype. They needed OT to get past Appalachian State in Week 1 of the college football season, and then had to rely on their defense last week, as they eventually steamrolled the Virginia Tech Cavaliers, thanks in large part to 5 turnovers. The passing game has just not developed for Tennessee so far this season, and it really has to if they are to have any success. They have much tougher games ahead of them on the schedule, and it’s time to get that passing game in sync.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Tennessee are a 27.5-point favorite coming into this one, and while I believe that they will get the win on Saturday, I’m just not convinced that it will be by a huge margin. The Bobcats can stuff the run and keep things close, at least for a little while.

Ohio Bobcats 17 Tennessee Volunteers 35