No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 15 North Carolina State at Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, (ABC)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Tennessee by 7 1/2.
Series record: Tennessee leads 2-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The Duke’s Mayo Classic title. The Vols, coming off a 69-3 demolition of Chattanooga, have a chance to make a better impression against a ranked opponent after opening against a team from the Championship Subdivision. They also can make up for 2018 when they opened that season with an ugly loss to West Virginia in the same stadium. This will be the first time these teams have played each other while ranked. N.C. State entered Dave Doeren’s 12th season with aspirations of contending in the Atlantic Coast Conference after 34 wins in the past four seasons. The Wolfpack would love a marquee nonconference win in this recruiting hotbed.
KEY MATCHUP
N.C. State’s defense against Tennessee’s up-tempo offense. The Volunteers scored on their first seven drives to open this season and finished with 718 yards total offense, second only to Ole Miss among FBS teams. The Wolfpack gave up 361 yards in its opening win.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tennessee: QB Nico Iamaleava. The five-star recruit from Long Beach, California, set a school record throwing for 314 yards in the first half in his first home start in the opener. That was just the fourth 300-yard passing for a half in Vols’ history. Iamaleava is 2-0 after winning his debut in a rout of Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. He has scored seven TDs and is 34 of 47 for 465 yards.
N.C. State: WR KC Concepcion. The second-year receiver started the year with three touchdowns against Western Carolina, picking up where he left off as the team’s top and most explosive weapon through a second-half surge to close last season. Concepcion has multiple touchdown catches in six of his 14 career games.
FACTS & FIGURES
These teams have played once in this millennium: a 35-21 win by the Vols in the 2012 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. … Tennessee was N.C. State’s first-ever college opponent in 1893. … The Wolfpack’s four straight seasons of eight-plus wins stand alongside as Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Notre Dame as the only power-conference-level programs nationally with an active such streak. … Tennessee is 14-2 outside the Southeastern Conference under coach Josh Heupel, including 12-1 in the regular season and winners of 11 straight. The Vols have outscored those opponents 772-236 in those games … Tennessee has not allowed a TD in 13 straight quarters when playing non-SEC teams and eight straight overall.
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