Tennessee football may have a quote to stick on its bulletin board before the Vols meet Syracuse in Atlanta to open the season.
As the Orange prepare for kickoff on Aug. 30 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, linebacker Fatim Diggs met with the media. He was asked about the chance to open the season against Tennessee, an SEC team that was in the playoffs a year ago.
“It’ll be great for us to go out there and show them what we do in the ACC,” Diggs said. “Give them a tough game. No matter what, we’re going to stay where our feet are at right now, but when that game comes, we’ll show people how we really get down. That confidence stuff, it matters, but it really don’t matter.”
Diggs also touched on Syracuse’s preparation for the game. He noted that it’s an everyday process to get ready for the challenge the Orange have to start the season.
“It’s something that we go into every day, taking that game step-by-step,” Diggs said. “Just leading up to that game, being prepared for it. We’re going to be prepared for it when the game comes.”
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Currently, the Vols are a 14-point favorite to win, according to ESPN. Tennessee sits at -600 on the moneyline and the over/under point total is at 53.5 combined points. UT opened as a 13-point favorite, but the line has moved one point in the Vols’ direction since.
Throughout school history, Tennessee is 3-0 against Syracuse on the gridiron. Most recently, the Vols defeated the Orange 33-9 in Knoxville during the 2001 season. Just a few years prior, Tennessee beat a Syracuse team led by future NFL star Donovan McNabb 34-33 on the road. UT would go on to have a perfect season and win the national championship during that 1998 season.
The first meeting between the schools was in 1966 in Jacksonville, Florida. Tennessee won 18-12.
