The Appalachian State Mountaineers will travel from their home of Boone, North Carolina to face off with the Tennessee Volunteers in a Sun Belt/SEC contest with a scheduled 7:30 PM kick-off. Appalachian State has played the role of spoiler in hostile environments before, looking to replicate previous historic success in this role. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.
As we have covered previously, the Volunteers enter 2016 with high hopes and lofty expectations. The Volunteers return a tandem of gifted athletes in their offensive ranks in Jalen Hurd and Joshua Dobbs. The dynamic duo are regarded as one of the best quarterback/running back tandems in all of college football and have both entered Heisman discussions. To bolster Tennessee’s ranks, the Volunteers also return some exquisitely talented personnel on defense in defensive end Derrick Barnett and defensive back Cameron Sutton. Tennessee is a unanimous favorite to win the SEC East and given nearly the same odds as LSU and Alabama to win the conference outright.
Appalachian State comes in off an eleven win campaign of their own 2015, capping off their season with a win at the Camellia Bowl against Ohio. The Mountaineers return some key personnel on offense in quarterback Taylor Lamb and running back Marcus Cox. App State was one of the most balanced teams in the country statistically in 2015, as they bolstered top-tier credentials in rushing offense and four major defensive categories.
- Tennessee is 6-2 ATS in their preceding eight outings.
- Tennessee has covered in their last three against the spread.
- Appalachian State has failed to cover in their last three against the spread.
- Appalachian State is 1-5 in their last six against the spread.
