Bold predictions: Chattanooga at Tennessee (2024)

Patrick Brown: I submitted this answer in our first-touchdown predictions thread on The CheckerBoard earlier this week, so I’ve got to keep it consistent, right? Three different positions have accounted for the first touchdowns of the previous three seasons:

• 2021 – Joe Milton III ran one in.
• 2022 – Jalin Hyatt caught the first of his 15 touchdowns.
• 2023 – Dylan Sampson took a fourth-swing pass to paydirt.

So why not a tight end? Tennessee should have three solid ones with transfers Holden Staes and Miles Kitselman helping the overhaul in that room, but give me Davis as the first of them to find the end zone. Tight ends combined for nine touchdowns last season and Nico Iamaleava threw both of his to McCallan Castles, so he clearly knows how to find the big athletes in space. He and fellow 2023 blue-chip recruit Davis should already have a good connection, and a touchdown would be instant gratification for the redshirt freshman after his productive offseason.

Ben McKee: Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell II generated quite the buzz this camp for his ability to make plays. Brazzell appears to be in position to debut as a Vol in the starting lineup. With Bru McCoy likely being eased back into the mix following last season's gruesome ankle injury, and Chattanooga having to replace All-American cornerback Kam Brown, Brazzell will take advantage and find the checkerboards twice.

Wes Rucker:Keenan Pili probably never in his wildest dreams he’d still be playing college football in 2024. And why would he? He started his college career in 2016. Even for a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — where college careers are routinely paused for a two-year mission — this has been a long career. Pili transferred from BYU to Tennessee before last season, and he expected to spend one year in Knoxville before heading (hopefully) to the NFL.

Well … he got hurt in Tennessee’s season-opening rout of Virginia, and he was done for the year. He still hasn’t played at Neyland Stadium as a Tennessee Volunteer. That will change Saturday, and he can hardly wait. The 26-year-old thumper in the middle of Tennessee’s defense is healthy, and I think he’ll fly around and do some damage in this game. I’m not sure whether he’ll force or recover a fumble, or if he’ll intercept a pass or tip a pass someone else intercepts, or if he’ll hurry the quarterback into a pick. But I think he’ll do at least one of those things at least once in this game.

Ryan Callahan: All eyes will be on Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava in his first career start at Neyland Stadium. He was effective, although not overly flashy in the passing game, against a stingy Iowa defense during his first career start on January 1 to lead the Vols 35-0 win in the Citrus Bowl. Now it’s time to see if he can put up big numbers against an FCS team that shouldn’t have the talent to keep up with Tennessee for four quarters.

Tennessee needs to build some confidence for its offense, and for its passing game in particular, going into next week’s game against NC State in Charlotte, and I expect the Vols to get Iamaleava going with some short passes early before taking some shots downfield. The result, even if he doesn’t play all four quarters, should be a productive game for Tennessee’s offense, and I expect Iamaleava to make his fair share of the plays. I see him throwing at least three touchdown passes on the way to what should be a comfortable win for the Vols.

Patrick Brown: If the Mocs are going to cause many problems in this game, it’ll have to be with the passing game. Despite losing its best wide receiver to the transfer portal in the offseason, Chattanooga returns its starting quarterback and two of his top wideouts, who will be battling a new-look Tennessee secondary. The Mocs also were adept at pass protection, though I wonder if that will hold up against what the Vols up front – then again, Chattanooga didn’t allow any sacks to Alabama in that game last season.

Like Tennessee, Chattanooga is replacing its top two running backs including Ailym Ford, who set program records for rushing yards and touchdowns by a running back. This is bold because one bad run fit by a third-string freshman defensive back in the fourth quarter of a decided game could lead to a long run. But Tennessee is second in the SEC in run defense over the past two seasons, and the defensive line should dominate enough (and add the sack yardage, though that rule needs to be changed) to ground the Mocs.

Ben McKee: Knoxville native DeSean Bishop seems poised for a big opener due to the circ*mstances surrounding him in the running back room. It’s hard to envision star running back Dylan Sampson receiving a ton of work ahead of next weekend’s big game against NC State, Cameron Seldon will likely be eased back in coming off shoulder surgery and Bishop is a year older than true freshman Peyton Lewis. It simply feels as if Bishop, who turned heads during camp, is in position to receive the majority of the carries against the Mocs.

Wes Rucker: I went back and looked at Tennessee’s games against FCS and smaller-league FBS opponents in the Josh Heupel era, and I was really surprised by the run-pass tilts in those games. I would’ve expected some really large rushing yardage totals in those games, considering how prolific the Vols have been on the ground for much of Heupel’s time in Knoxville. But it usually hasn’t gone that way, even in games where Tennessee had no no trouble moving the ball. With a couple of exceptions, they’ve had more passing yards than rushing yards in these games, and sometimes the margin has been large.

I know this is Nico Iamaleava’s first start at Neyland Stadium, and I know the Vols have a lot of talented mouths to feed at receiver and tight end, but I still think they’ll run the ball a good bit against Chattanooga. Predicting 250+ on the ground would probably qualify as bold, given the Vols’ rushing yardage in games like this the past few years, but it doesn’t feel sufficiently bold for GoVols247’s Bold Predictions. I bumped it up a bit and went 275+. Let’s be gentlemen here.

Ryan Callahan: This one might be a little bit of a reach, honestly, because Chattanooga allowed only 18 sacks last season, and the Mocs will probably go out of their way to get the ball out quickly in the passing game. But the Vols’ defensive line has a chance to be really good, and they have plenty of depth there that should keep their entire rotation fresh on what might be a hot day at Neyland Stadium.

Whether it’s James Pearce Jr. and Joshua Josephs wreaking havoc off the edge or Omarr Norman-Lott, Omari Thomas and Bryson Eason being disruptive up the middle, I expect Tennessee to spend plenty of time in the backfield in this game, and that should lead to at least a few sacks for the Vols’ defense. Throw in the fact that Chattanooga will be playing from behind throughout the game, giving Tennessee’s defense plenty of opportunities to pin its ears back and go after the quarterback, and I believe the Vols will rack up at least five sacks by the end of the game.