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Posted at 9:30 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Kent State +49½ over TENNESSEE

Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Streaming: SEC Network

7:45 PM EST. It's the oldest trap in the book, but the "sandwich game" still has bite. Perhaps the most classic, basic handicapping spot is the ol' sandwich game. The no-name opponent on the schedule between two big games. The letdown and the lookahead rolled into one and it remains a common cause of a C-game, because there are so many ways to go wrong. The first big game can be taxing, thrilling, deflating or any other thing that big games often are, the second one can be anticipated in several different distracting ways, and then there's the meat of the sandwich itself: never feared, perpetually overlooked, disrespected and written off. When an overreaction is also tossed into the mix, the value is that much riper and that is the case here with backing Kent State.

Last week at the Duke Mayo’s Classic in Charlotte, the Vols, as an eight-point favorite, thrashed the then #24-ranked NC State Wolf Pack in their backyard by a score of 51-10. A win of this nature will generate all sorts of fanfare but when we consider that many were high on NC State as a potential dark horse for the ACC title and a College Football Playoff appearance, the Tennessee dismantling of the Red and White was that much more impactful. Subsequently this week, the Vols have been discussed as an elite side that is a notch below the Georgia, Ohio State, and Texas tier. Moreover, the Vols have catapulted into the top 10 where they are ranked as high as #7 in the AP Poll: That’s not too shabby for a team predicted to finish seventh in the SEC in the preseason media polls but it also exemplifies the term overreaction. The emphatic result from this big game also serves as the huge first slice of bread.

On the horizon, Tennessee will be traveling west to face off with #13 Oklahoma in what will undoubtedly be a test to prove if the Volunteers are for real or not and if Oklahoma Football is headed back in the right direction to prominence. This contest will also be huge with the conference implications and the stakes make this game even bigger than Tennessee’s excursion to the Queen City. In turn this an even bigger slice of bread and makes a team like Kent State coming to Knoxville, an afterthought. Those that back Tennessee are asked to spot an enormous amount of points in a prime overreaction and lookahead spot which makes the Golden Flashes a hearty and juicy piece of meat for us to sink our teeth into.

Kent State will be coming to Rocky Top looking to make the most of their time there and get whatever it can from a contest of this nature. While we are not suggesting that Tennessee will ever be threatened by the Golden Flashes, should they manage to get a score or two, that places said wager behind the eight ball as it would require the Volunteers to score nearly 60 points to foster a cover and we are not sure Tennessee even cares about that given it has bigger fish to fry in Norman next week.

Sherwood

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