Tennessee football is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the 2024 season when they host UAB at Neyland Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Each week the RTI team will provide game predictions for Tennessee’s matchup. We move on to the UAB Blazers.
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Ric Butler
The question here is if this will be a bit of a hangover situation for Tennessee after losing to Georgia and with another SEC game on the horizon against Mississippi State next weekend, but I just don’t see that being the case. I think Tennessee comes out and dominates this game to pick back up some steam and momentum en route to a blowout victory in Neyland Stadium.
As RTI’s Matt Reed wrote about in his game preview on Thursday, this UAB defense isn’t a good one. Just like the Vols did against ETSU a few weeks ago, Tennessee has every ability to blitz the Blazers right out of the gates and build a substantial lead. This is one of the last chances for Tennessee to get some rotations in and protect some players’ health before its long SEC stretch, so all signs point to backups and rotational players continuing to get good work. Look for Travis Smith Jr., William Satterwhite, Peyton Lewis, and both quarterbacks, Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre, to get a few more snaps under their belt to help settle into the season. I’ll give Tennessee nine touchdowns and a field goal as the Vols get Max Gilbert some swagger back before a return to SEC play.
I’ve gone back and forth on UAB’s scoring output for this game, simply because it’ll have some chances to put up some points here and there against the deepest parts of Tennessee’s bench late in the game. The Blazers also have an offense that can throw the ball around a little bit. Just like the offense, though, this game is about rotating in players and protecting the health of your impact starters. Tennessee used a ton of depth against ETSU, and I don’t see any reason that’s not the case on Saturday. I’ll give UAB a field goal on a breakdown in the first half and a touchdown at some point in the second half. I think Tennessee’s defense, even with rotating players, will want to make a statement and earn some mojo here. Mississippi State lies ahead.
Prediction: Tennessee 66, UAB 10
Ryan Schumpert
During Tennessee’s lopsided win over ETSU, there was a conversation in the press box that Tennessee really might be able to score 100 points in one of these buy games if they wanted to. The Vols maybe would need a FCS opponent to truly score 100 points, but UAB’s defense is very bad. Tennessee can just about pick its number in this game.
UAB’s defense has been pretty terrible this season. They gave up 42 points and 514 total yards against FCS Alabama State. The Vols should be able to pick up where they left off and have their offense humming in the first half of this game, opening up a serious lead and coasting to a week four victory. The biggest question for Tennessee’s offense is when will they make the move to the backups.
The other area of intrigue in this game is just watching Tennessee’s younger players. For a number of Vols, this could be their last chance for serious playing time until the New Mexico State game. Tennessee could need some of those defensive players to provide depth so them making plays in this game would be a real positive.
Tennessee jumps on UAB early and coasts to a blowout victory.
Prediction: Tennessee 62, UAB 14
Ryan Sylvia
The spread for this game opened up at 35 points in favor of Tennessee. While it’s moved a bit since then, I think that’s a more appropriate spread for the first quarter and some change. The Vols’ offense is firing on all cylinders through three games, and the UAB defense is among the worst at the FBS level without playing a true quality opponent to this point.
A five-touchdown lead after one frame may be a bit of a lofty expectation, but I truly think it’d be in reach if Josh Heupel actually wanted to do it. I think a more measured and vanilla approach will be taken, but this game should still be essentially in the books after 15 minutes, with the final 45 just a formality. UAB may be able to put up a handful of points with a solid offense for its level, but the defense will be woefully outmatched even when the backups get on the field.
Besides a comfortable win, the biggest goal for UT in this one should just be to get out healthy. The Vols did so against ETSU, and with notable defensive injuries already being dealt with, an early lead and unloading of the bench on that side of the ball is imperative. I’m also excited to get another look at both Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre and the freshmen running backs, receivers (sans Radarious Jackson) and tight ends. The debut of Christian Gass will also be interesting on defense.
Give me Tennessee up big at halftime and an even bigger margin after the final whistle.
Prediction: Tennessee 66, UAB 17
