The Tennessee Volunteers take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. Check out our college football odds series for our Tennessee Pittsburgh prediction and pick.
The Tennessee Volunteers have not won the SEC championship since 1998. This is nearly a quarter-century title drought for a very proud program with a rich tradition. Tennessee made the SEC Championship Game in 2001, 2004, and 2007 under former coach Phil Fulmer, but lost each time, twice to LSU and once to Auburn. The Vols have not been back to the SEC title game since their 2007 appearance. They have not reached a New Year's Six bowl game since the 2000 Fiesta Bowl against Nebraska. The downfall of Tennessee football coexists with the woes of Nebraska and UCLA as a story of unexpected decline. Not winning even one conference title in 24 years has eaten away at the Tennessee fan base, and it underscores the importance of this game for coach Josh Heupel.
The 2000 national championship quarterback at Oklahoma under head coach Bob Stoops is in his second season at Tennessee. Heupel badly needs to build on his first season and establish the Vols as a relevant player in the SEC East and national conversations. He is not expected to beat Georgia this year, but he is expected to make a run at 10 wins and a New Year's Six bowl game. Beating Pittsburgh is a necessary part of that process. A loss here would be crushing for the Vols, who fell to Pittsburgh last year.
Pittsburgh beat Tennessee in 2021 with Kenny Pickett at quarterback and Jordan Addison at wide receiver. The Panthers don't have those two players because Pickett became a first-round NFL draft pick, and Addison transferred to USC. Pittsburgh did win its season opener, 38-31, over West Virginia, but the Panthers were outplayed for most of the second half. They needed a pick-six — in which the ball went right off a West Virginia receiver's hands on a well-thrown pass — to ultimately win the game. Pittsburgh, which won the ACC championship last season, has a lot to live up to in terms of defending its ACC title and maintaining the standard it set last year. A win here over Tennessee would go a long way toward doing that, and showing that coach Pat Narduzzi's program still has a strong foundation.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Tennessee-Pittsburgh College Football odds.
College Football Odds: Tennessee-Pittsburgh Odds
Tennessee: -6.5 (-118)
Pittsburgh: +6.5 (-104)
Over: 65.5 (-110)
Under: 65.5 (-110)
Why Tennessee Could Cover the Spread
The Vols have a returning quarterback, Hendon Hooker, who is fully integrated into his head coach's offense after playing under Josh Heupel last year. Pitt, on the other hand, has a quarterback who is new to the program this year. Kedon Slovis transferred from USC and is in Year 1 of his Pitt career under new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who replaced 2021 offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. (Whipple is now at Nebraska under Scott Frost.) That difference in quarterback familiarity within each program stands out as a significant differentiating element in this game.
The other reason Tennessee should cover is that its offensive line should outplay Pitt's defensive line. The Panthers were physically outplayed by West Virginia's offensive line in the second half of Week 1's game against the Mountaineers.
Why Pittsburgh Could Cover the Spread
After beating West Virginia in Week 1, Pitt will enter this game full of confidence and belief. Players rallied around each other, and the team did not quit, when things were going poorly in the third and early fourth quarter against West Virginia. Being able to not only win that game, but win it by coming from behind, will make Pitt resilient in a way that Tennessee won't be able to match. The Vols have a great offense, but if they get pushed back and run into adversity, they might not respond well.
One other reason Pitt will cover: The Panthers faced a much stiffer test than Tennessee in Week 1. The Vols played a cupcake game against Ball State. West Virginia truly prepared Pitt for Tennessee.
Final Tennessee-Pittsburgh Prediction & Pick
The Tennessee offensive line versus the Pitt defensive line is the key battle here. The Vols will win that battle. They will cover.
Final Tennessee-Pittsburgh Prediction & Pick: Tennessee -6.5
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