The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Tennessee Volunteers in one of college football opening-week's top-tier games. The game will be broadcast Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS from Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. The latest Tennessee vs. West Virginia odds show the Mountaineers favored by 9.5 points, the same as where the line opened. The over-under, or total points Vegas believes will be scored, is 60.5, down one from the opener. These teams have never met, so you need to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say before making your own West Virginia vs. Tennessee picks.
The computer has generated a stunning $4,210 profit for $100 bettors over the past three years and closed the bowl season on a perfect 7-0 run. Now, it has simulated West Virginia-Tennessee 10,000 times to produce strong college football picks against the spread and on the over-under. We can tell you it's leaning heavily toward the under, saying it hits in a whopping 65 percent of simulations. Its bold point-spread pick, which hits over 60 percent of the time, can be found only at SportsLine.
The model knows that for West Virginia, it starts and ends with Heisman preseason hopeful Will Grier, who last season threw for 3,490 yards, 34 TDS and 12 INTs. He'll have two of his top three targets back, including preseason All-American WR David Sills, who last year caught 60 passes for 980 yards and a stunning 18 TDs.
West Virginia's defense was as porous as the offense was prolific, allowing 31.5 points and 446 yards per contest. Those numbers are expected to improve, led by a stout D-line led by Clemson grad transfer Jabril Robinson and heralded freshman Dante Stills.
The model also knows Tennessee is coming off its worst season in history after going 0-8 in the SEC and 4-8 overall. The offense averaged under 20 points per game, but that's expected to increase with the addition of Stanford grad transfer Keller Chryst at QB. He went 11-2 as a starter for the Cardinal. They'll also have better depth at RB, with Michigan State grad transfer Madre London and returning sophomore Ty Chandler each capable.
The Vols' defense returns its top-four tacklers from a year ago and is expected to be considerably better on the line and backer levers as the team transitions to a 3-4 base under new coach Jeremy Pruitt. Tennessee has won nine straight season openers.
So which side of the West Virginia vs. Tennessee spread hits in over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to be all over, all from the proven computer model that has returned over $4,000 for $100 bettors.
