Tennessee football vs Chattanooga: Our score prediction, scouting report for Vols opener

Tennessee football is back again for coach Josh Heupel's fourth season.

The No. 15 Vols open against Chattanooga on Saturday (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium.

Here is what to know about the matchup:

Have you (Lance) Heard about the new left tackle?

Tennessee's offensive line features two of the three locked-in starters on the depth chart with center Cooper Mays and right guard Javontez Spraggins. Among the new starters up front is Lance Heard, a left tackle who transferred from LSU after his freshman season.

"He came in, good body and good weight," Spraggins said. "He just needed to fit in with the program and needed to learn how we do things. He has done a great job of taking it and putting it out there on the field. I feel like he is going to be a great player at left tackle for us this year."

The 6-foot-6, 340-pound Heard was a five-star prospect in the 2023 class, and 247Sports Composite ranked him as the No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 15 player overall. Heard played one season at LSU. He started one game.

Heard's job is especially important in protecting prized quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

What to know about Chattanooga

Chattanooga is ranked No. 8 in the preseason FCS poll and was picked to win the SoCon in coach Rusty Wright's sixth season.

The Mocs return a veteran quarterback Chase Artopoues, who transferred from UCLA prior. He threw for 2,672 yards and 20 touchdowns while leading the Mocs to the playoffs last season. He completed 63% of his passes.

Chattanooga returns leading tackler Alex Mitchell, a linebacker who had 78 tackles in 2023. Two-time All-SoCon defensive lineman Marlon Taylor was a preseason All-American. He has 16 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in his career.

Josh Heupel is unbeaten in season openers at Tennessee

Tennessee is unbeaten in season openers under Heupel, outscoring opponents 146-29 in those three first games.

The Vols won 38-6 against Bowling Green in Heupel's first game at UT in 2021. They followed with a 59-10 win against Ball State to begin the 2022 season in the highest-scoring opening game under Heupel. Tennessee beat Virginia 49-13 to start the 2023 season in a neutral-site game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

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Tennessee's history against Chattanooga

Tennessee is 40-2 in its history against Chattanooga, but the recent history is scarce.

The Vols and Mocs have played only twice since 1969. Both meetings have been in the past decade. Tennessee beat Chattanooga 45-10 on Oct. 11, 2014. It won 45-0 on Sept. 14, 2019.

UT's two losses in the series history were in 1905 in Chattanooga and 1958 in Knoxville.

Score prediction

Tennessee 45, Chattanooga 17: The Nico Iamaleava era gets off to a good start with a home win to launch into the 2024 season.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ ByMikeWilson . If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football vs Chattanooga: Our score prediction, scouting report for Vols opener