Tennessee only began the week as a slight underdog in the opening line for their upcoming game against Pittsburgh. However, towards the end of the week, Tennessee’s underdog status has only grown. As of Thursday afternoon, the line has expanded by a couple of points, depending on the outlet, in favor of the visiting Panthers.
Currently, according to Fanduel, Pittsburgh is a 3.5-point favorite over Tennessee in their upcoming game. Meanwhile, both DraftKings and Circa Sports have the Panthers as a 3-point favorite over the Vols.
However, each line has made a shift more in favor of Pittsburgh since the opening lines were released. On Monday, DraftKings had Tennessee as a 2-point underdog, while Fanduel had the Vols as a 1.5-point underdog. In addition, Circa Sports had Tennessee as a 1-point underdog on Monday, as well.
Tennessee began the season on the right note after defeating Bowling Green 38-6. However, Pittsburgh was also dominant in their opening week against UMass. The Panthers took down the Minutemen by a score of 51-7, in which Pitt threw for 375 yards while picking up 223 on the ground.
In Tennessee’s win over Bowling Green, quarterback Joe Milton III threw for 139 yards on 11-of-23 passing. Meanwhile, Tennessee had a massive game from both of their running backs. Jabari small led the team in carries (22) and had 117 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, JUCO transfer Tiyon Evans led the team in rushing yards (120) on 16 attempts. However, Evans’ status for Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh remains unclear.
The Volunteers’ are 0-1 against the spread in the Heupel Era. The Panthers, however, are 1-0 after flying past a -37.5 line on Saturday.
The kick-off is set for noon ET as the Tennessee Volunteers will host Pittsburgh in the Johnny Majors Classic. Tennessee is currently a 3-to-3.5-point underdog in the betting line against the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers.
One Response
While it’s only a game, a win would mean much more to Tenn than Pitt. The Vols are trying to come back off a three win season under Pruitt. It should give them a big shot of confidence on down the road against the tough SEC schedule. A loss would be detrimental to their push to become bowl eligible.