A Sun Belt vs SEC matchup takes place on Saturday as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers travel to the Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The start time is 12:21 pm (Eastern) and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Current Odds have Tennessee listed as 13 point favorites, while the total sits at 58.5.
Analysis: For the second week in a row the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will be taking on an SEC team. Last week they had a nice 35-26 win over Kentucky on neutral field. The Hilltoppers made it two wins in a row over SEC bottom-feeder Kentucky, rolling up almost 500 yards in total offense in the process. Antonio Andrews was the spark plug in the victory, accounting for 194 total yards on the evening, with most of his damage coming on the ground (20 carries, 99 yards, TD). Leon Hall chipped in with 92 yards on just 10 carries and he had a touchdown as well. Keshawn Simpson had only 34 yards, but acted as the closer with two short TD runs. QB Brandon Doughty had a nice, completing 27-of-34 passes for 271 yards, including his first-career touchdown pass. For most of the game, WKU's defense performed well, although some garbage time production from the Wildcats caused the final stats to take a hit (419 total yards allowed).
Tennessee has had some less than par season of late, but the Butch Jones-era started off on the right foot, as it dismantled FCS foe Austin Peay in its opener last week, 45-0. In that game the Vols went an entire game without a penalty for the first time since 2007. Jones is taking a page from Oregon and pushing the tempo on offense with the motto of "strain and sustain.". In game 1 it worked to near perfection as they put up 30 first downs and 447 yards of offense, including 315 yards on the ground. QB Justin Worley did a good job in limited time under completing 11-of-13 passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns. Rajion Neal, one of the few offensive holdovers from 2012, was the catalyst in the triumph, piling up 141 yards on 16 carries, including a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Even though it came against an FCS opponent, the Vols' impressive defensive performance was still a great sign. The unit allowed just 11 first downs and 211 yards in the shutout. Tennessee played 10 freshman in the opener, including three - Malik Foreman, Cam Sutton, and Devaun Swafford - who saw extensive playing time at cornerback.
Pick: This WKU team is not to be taken lightly this year and a big reason why I will go with them here. The Hilltooppers beat up Kentucky last week and piled up a ton of yards in the process. Their offense is very good and underrated this year and the should have some good success vs a Tennessee defense that looked better than they actually are last week. The Hilltoppers held an FCS team to just 211 yards last week, but this is a group that allowed 35.7 ppg and 471 ypg last year. I can see them reverting back to struggling on that side of the ball in this one. The Tennessee offense looked good in the openers, but it was vs an FCS team and this offense still has some growing to do, with just 5 starters back from last year and a new QB. I know that Tennessee is looking to build on wins and any win is big for them right now, but you also have to feel that this team may have an eye on their next two games, which are at Oregon and Florida. Look ahead spot here for the Vols. I look for WKU to do enough on offense to keep this final in single digits.
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