After a week one neutral site win over Syracuse, Tennessee returns to Neyland Stadium Saturday afternoon for its home opener against ETSU. The Vols and Bucs each opened their season with a win a week ago and Tennessee is looking to cruise against its instate FCS foe.
Each week, the RTI team will provide game predictions for Tennessee’s matchup. We move on to the ETSU Bucs.
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Ric Butler
Spoiler alert: Tennessee wins big. It’s just one of those games. Now let’s get into the good stuff.
On the offensive side of the ball, I’m excited and intrigued to see what Tennessee’s first offense does in the limited time that it’s out there. By no means are we expecting Josh Heupel and company to start flipping into new chapters of the playbook, especially with Georgia next week, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a good opportunity to keep getting Joey Aguilar and his weapons some comfortable time together on the field. It’ll be a good chance for David Sanders Jr. to get his first in-game reps, if he does wind up playing on Saturday after being sidelined with injury last week. And then you move to the backup receivers. We didn’t see much of them last week, but what better chance early in the season is there to see Travis Smith Jr., Radarious Jackson, and Joakim Dodson out there getting good snaps, whether it be with Aguilar or one of the backups in Jake Merklinger or George MacIntyre.
On the defensive side of the ball, I’m looking to see how much Tennessee unloads the bench to get different (and younger) guys reps with the injuries that the Vols are facing here early in the year. ETSU ran the ball well in its opening game last weekend, so how does Tennessee try to bottle that up before the Buccaneers start passing heavily with a deficit? Speaking of passing, I’d imagine that Tennessee is going to be rotating in plenty of secondary work among its defensive backs in this game. Keep getting Ty Redmond comfortable on the field, but it’s also a big chance to see what some of the other freshmen and reserves have in case their number is called at some point during the year.
All respect to in-state program ETSU, but like it often is with these kinds of games, I’m intrigued by the rotations that this contest will present for Tennessee. Especially with a monster SEC opener against the Bulldogs next week. More on that in the coming days.
Prediction: Tennessee 64, ETSU 10
Ryan Schumpert
Tennessee has beaten the brakes off of smaller schools under head coach Josh Heupel. In the previous four matchups against FCS foes under Heupel, Tennessee won by 56 points, 41 points, 17 points and 66 points. The 30-13 win over Austin Peay in 2023 was one of the worst offensive performances of the Heupel era. All that to say, my expectation is for Tennessee to cruise in this game.
But there are still some interesting things to watch in this game. Let’s start with ETSU’s two-quarterback system that includes Iowa transfer Cade McNamara and North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell. The Bucs appear fully committed to playing both and it should be a unique test for Tim Banks’ defense. With injuries at cornerback and defensive tackle, I’m just intrigued to watch Tennessee’s defense play. There will be far more takeaways if either group struggles in this game compared to if they play well. But Tennessee’s defensive front needs to show it can smother ETSU’s running game. The Vols corners, especially freshman Ty Redmond, need to build off their success from the opener.
On the offensive side, curiosity is at the quarterback position. What does Joey Aguilar look like in his first start at Neyland Stadium? When Heupel decided to pull him from the game is probably the more interesting question. Does he try and get him an abundance of reps due to his lack of experience in the offense or does he lean more on Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre? How Heupel uses Merklinger and MacIntyre will also be really interesting. Freshmen receivers Travis Smith Jr and Radarious Jackson will get more run in this game and will be worth watching.
This one gets really one-sided quick and Tennessee rolls to a victory ahead of its SEC opening showdown with Georgia.
Prediction: Tennessee 63, ETSU 7
Ryan Sylvia
Week one was overall a success for Tennessee football’s new-look offense. There were still some growing pains that it’ll have to continue to work through going into SEC play, though. This matchup with an FCS opponent should create the opportunity to work through any lingering issues. While you want to get out healthy, getting a good number of starters on this side of the ball on the same page will be important with the Georgia game looming.
On defense, the unit took a step back from a year ago in the opener. I’m not going to panic yet, but the situation is worth monitoring. However, with injuries already stacking up on that side of the ball, it’d be surprising if some of the top players got too much run in this one. While ETSU boasts a pair of former Power Four quarterbacks, the reserves should be plenty good enough to handle it. It’ll also serve as a way to continue to build depth.
At the end of the day, the talent gap will be enough. I don’t expect Tennessee to do anything that isn’t vanilla on offense, but it should still result in a large number being put on the scoreboard. Of course, all eyes will be on Joey Aguilar in his Neyland Stadium debut, but I’m also curious to see how Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre do. Toss in some reserve receivers, the pair of freshmen tight ends and a possible debut of David Sanders Jr. on the offensive line, and there is plenty to keep your eye on.
Prediction: Tennessee 66, ETSU 14
