It looks like Tennessee will have to fight their way to 1-0 in Atlanta.
It’s early, but Tennessee may have some work to do to earn more national respect. Vegas Insider dropped some Week 1 lines for what they’ve determined are important games nationally. As of this time, they anticipate the Tennessee-Georgia Tech line for the game on September 4th to be Tennessee favored by 6 points.
I’d guess most realistic fans aren’t surprised it’s that low, right? Tennessee has a major talent advantage over Georgia Tech (Tech’s average recruiting class typically hangs in the low 30s or high 40s). However, Georgia Tech just finished whipping Kentucky around in their bowl game. Tennessee will be coming off a terribly disappointing 2016 run. Winning this game will be pretty critical for how Butch Jones’ 2017 will go.
Of course, this could also mean oddsmakers think Tennessee is more like 9 points better than Tech. The game will be played about 15 minutes from Tech’s campus, and they’ll feel right at home. Tennessee may have the fan advantage, though. It’s tough to tell how excited people are for this game right now.
