Skip to main content
Tennessee

Tennessee Football favored by nearly six touchdowns against East Tennessee State

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey09/06/25GrantRamey
Tennessee Football's Neyland Stadium | Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Football's Neyland Stadium | Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Football is a 40.5-point favorite for Saturday afternoon’s home opener against East Tennessee State, according to odds released by BetMGM. The total is set at 59.5 between the Vols and Bucs, who are scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

No. 22 Tennessee (1-0) beat Syracuse 45-26 last week in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, easily covering a two-touchdown spread that had the Vols as the favorite. Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in his UT debut and Tennessee ran for 246 yards and two touchdowns.

The level of competition steps up drastically next week, when Tennessee hosts No. 4 Georgia at Neyland Stadium in the SEC opener. UAB comes to Knoxville on September 20 and the Vols go to Mississippi State on September 27 for their first true road game of the season, before a bye week on October 4.

How to Watch: Tennessee vs. ETSU

When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Where: Neyland Stadium

Streaming: ESPN+/SEC Network+ (Matt Schumacker, Dustin Fox and Stephanie Otey)

Radio: WNML 99.1 and WIVK 107.7 FM in Knoxville (Mike Keith, Ramon Foster, Brent Hubbs, Jayson Swain). The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 139 or 202 | SiriusXM App Ch. 964

A Closer Look at ETSU

ETSU used a two-quarterback system in the 45-17 season-opening win over Murray State last week in Johnson City. Both quarterbacks are transfers from power-conference programs in Cade McNamara and Jacolby Criswell.  

McNamara spent the last two seasons at Iowa, after three seasons at Michigan. Criswell spent three years at North Carolina, transferred to Arkansas for the 2023 season, then transferred back to UNC last season.

McNamara started last week and completed 12 of 17 passes for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Criswell completed 5 of 8 passes for 34 yards and ran six times for 46 yards, including a long of 42.

McNamara appeared in 13 games at Iowa over the last two seasons, completing 57.3% of his passes and throwing for 1,522 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He appeared in 21 games in three seasons at Michigan, including 14 in 2021, and had 3,181 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Criswell has completed 221 of 378 passes for 2,806 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions over the last five seasons while also rushing 114 times for 280 yards and four touchdowns. 

You may also like