Tennessee Football opens as early favorite for Saturday night’s game vs. North Carolina State

No. 15 Tennessee opened as a 5.5-point favorite against No. 24 North Carolina State for Saturday night’s game in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Vols and the Wolfpack are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ABC.

DraftKings had Tennessee as a 6.5-point favorite Saturday night while Caesars had the line at Tennessee -6. FanDuel had the line at Tennessee -5.5.

The Vols (1-0) opened the season with a 69-3 win over Chattanooga Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium . N.C. State (1-0) trailed Western Carolina 21-17 in the third quarter Thursday night at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, but rallied for a 38-21 win.

Tennessee covered against Chattanooga as a 38-point favorite after building a 38-point lead in the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s game and leading 45-0 at halftime. N.C. State failed to cover as a 32-point favorite against Western Carolina.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 22 of 28 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns while making his first career start at Neyland Stadium. Iamaleava, who set a new program record with his 314 yards passing in a single half, did not play in the second half as the Vols began emptying the bench.

Junior running back Dylan Sampson carried 12 times for 124 yards and scored three times on the ground. Dont’e Thornton caught three pass for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

N.C. State trailed Western Carolina 21-17 in third quarter on Thursday

N.C. State quarterback Grayson McCall , the Coastal Carolina transfer, completed 26 of 40 passes for 318 yards, three touchdowns and an interception against Western Carolina.

Jordan Waters led the Wolfpack on the ground with 20 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns and Kevin Concepcion caught nine passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns.

The game was tied at 14-14 at halftime before Western Carolina scored a touchdown to take a 21-17 lead, answering a 46-yard N.C. State field goal. The Wolfpack took over with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee’s history with North Carolina State

Tennessee and North Carolina State’s football history dates back to 1911, but the two teams have played only three games. The Vols won the most recent matchup, 35-21 on August 31, 2012 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

N.C. State won the first meeting 16-0 at home in October 1911 and Tennessee won 13-0 in a return trip to Raleigh in September 1939.

Tennessee in 2012 jumped out to a 22-7 lead at the end of the first quarter after Cordarrelle Patterson caught a 41-yard touchdown on the game’s first possession, then ran for a 67-yard touchdown later in the quarter.

Tyler Bray completed 27 of 41 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns and Patterson starred in his debut after transferring from Hutchinson Community College, finishing the game with 165 total yards.

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