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The Tennessee Volunteers and the Ball State Cardinals will face off at 7 p.m. ET Sept. 1 at Neyland Stadium to kick off their 2022 seasons. Tennessee was on the positive side of .500 (7-6) last season and is hoping to kick off an even more successful year. Meanwhile, Ball State struggled last year, ending up 6-7.
A pair of last-season defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: The Volunteers snagged 13 interceptions last season, the 33rd most (top 13%) in the nation. But the Cardinals were even better: they collected 15 interceptions, good for 14th in the the nation. We'll see if that edge gives Ball State a route to victory.
Tennessee has the odds in their favor, so they'll need to guard against complacency. It would take nothing short of a miracle for Ball State to pull off a victory, but maybe they can at least keep Tennessee from covering the spread.
