SEC football predictions: Tennessee will strike quick against Virginia. Sorry, Florida. | Adams
Tennessee sophomore Squirrel White said the first week of preseason practice that quarterback Joe Milton gave a few words of advice to his receivers:
“Don’t stop running.”
That makes sense. Milton likely has the strongest arm in college football, which means no matter how fast his receivers are, they probably won't outrun his throwing range.
So why not test that theory on the first offensive play of the season Saturday against Virginia? Offer Milton maximum protection and let a couple of receivers run as fast and far as they can. If nothing else, that will tell the Cavaliers how tiring the afternoon might be.
That’s all the offensive advice I have for UT coach Josh Heupel and first-year offensive coordinator Joey Halzle. They’re on their own after that.
But I take full responsibility for these picks:
Tennessee 45, Virginia 13: Playing the Vols at Nissan Stadium in Nashville isn’t as daunting as playing them at Neyland Stadium. But anyone who thinks this is a neutral site hasn’t been paying attention.
The Vols opened the 2015 season with a 59-30 victory over Bowling Green in Nashville. Virginia won’t come any closer.
Alabama 49, MTSU 10: Never mind the Tide’s uncertainty at quarterback. It has a long history under Nick Saban of overwhelming opening opponents.
It’s MTSU’s turn.
Arkansas 48, Western Carolina 7: Quarterback KJ Jefferson should look like a Heisman Trophy winner against the Catamounts. So should running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders.
Auburn 42, UMass 0: Coach Hugh Freeze’s first game with the Tigers should be even better than his first game at Ole Miss. The Rebels opened their 2012 season with a 49-27 victory over Central Arkansas.
Utah 27, Florida 20: I still don’t understand how the Gators beat the Utes last season in The Swamp. That should give Utah extra motivation for a game it fumbled away against an inferior team in Gainesville.
Georgia 52, UT Martin 3: In a best-case scenario, the Skyhawks will be able to say they came closer to the Bulldogs than TCU did last season in the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Kentucky 42, Ball State 10: Credit the Wildcats with not randomly picking a MAC opponent. Instead, they sought one of the least competent teams in the conference. Ball State qualifies.
LSU 34, Florida State 30: This could be the best game of the weekend, featuring two of the best quarterbacks — LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Florida State’s Jordan Travis. The outcome could be as close as last season’s matchup — which the Seminoles won 24-23 — but with a different winner.
Mississippi State 41, Southeastern Louisiana 13: How will the Bulldogs transition from the Air Raid offense popularized by the late Mike Leach? That’s the biggest question about coach Zach Arnett’s first team. But they could run the Notre Dame Box formation (Google it) and handle the Lions.
Ole Miss 52, Mercer 17: The Rebels might have more quality depth at quarterback than any other SEC team. Any one of those could excel in this opener.
Missouri 34, South Dakota 17: Credit the Tigers with picking the right opponent from South Dakota. South Dakota State beat South Dakota by 25 points last season and has won 11 of the past 13 games in the series.
South Carolina 41, North Carolina 38: One of the marquee quarterback matchups of the first two weeks between the Gamecocks' Spencer Rattler and the Tar Heels' Drake Maye. In Rattler’s past three games — all against nationally ranked teams — he completed 84 passes, including 10 for touchdowns.
ADAMS: My game-by-game predictions for Tennessee football. Can Vols win against Alabama?
Texas A&M 45, New Mexico 6: The Aggies and Lobos have something in common: Both had dreadful offenses last season. But no offense will look dreadful against New Mexico. Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino might even get along.
Vanderbilt 37, Alabama A&M 13: The Commodores should match last season’s 2-0 start. Problems will arise quickly after that.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Adams' SEC football predictions: Tennessee will go deep. Sorry, Florida
