Tennessee vs. Syracuse prediction, odds, time: 2025 college football Week 1 picks by expert on 16-8 run

The 24th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers battle the Syracuse Orange in the 2025 Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta on Saturday. This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2001. The Orange (10-3 in 2024), who tied for third-place in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 5-3, were 1-0 on games played at a neutral site. The Volunteers (10-3 in 2024), who tied for second in the Southeastern Conference at 6-2, were 1-0 at neutral sites.

Kickoff from Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, is set for noon ET. Tennessee leads the all-time series 3-0. The Volunteers are 13.5-point favorites in the latest Syracuse vs. Tennessee odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 50.5. Before making any Tennessee vs. Syracuse picks, make sure you check out what SportsLine expert, Emory Hunt, has to say. New users can also target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets instantly plus over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket:

Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette. He knows the game from a player’s perspective. Hunt’s dedication to analysis of all levels of college and professional football helped go 224-198 (+605) on all college football picks over the past two years. He is also 16-8 (+698) on his last 24 picks in Tennessee games. Anyone who has followed him could be way up.

Now, Hunt has zoned in on Syracuse vs. Tennessee. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several CFB odds and college football betting lines for Tennessee vs. Syracuse:

Why Tennessee can cover

Senior transfer Joey Aguilar takes over for the Volunteers after two seasons at Appalachian State. In 11 games last season, he completed 55.9% of his passes for 3,003 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions for a 132.9 rating. He passed for 250 yards or more in six games, including 424 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a 21-19 win at East Carolina. His sophomore season, he completed 63.7% of his passes for 3,757 yards and 33 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions.

DeSean Bishop is among the returning running backs for Tennessee. In 10 games last year, his freshman season, he carried 74 times for 455 yards (6.1 average) and three touchdowns. In a 71-0 win over Kent State on Sept. 14, he carried seven times for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He carried 16 times for 65 yards (4.1 average) in a 25-15 win at Oklahoma on Sept. 21. See which team to back at SportsLine. 

Why Syracuse can cover

Notre Dame transfer quarterback Steve Angeli has been named the Orange’s starter going into the season. He appeared in 21 collegiate games for the Fighting Irish, including last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal and championship games. In the semifinal win over Penn State, he drove Notre Dame down the field for the winning score, completing 6 of 7 passes for 44 yards in that drive. In two seasons with the Irish, he completed 58 of 80 passes (72.5%) for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception.

Junior Darrell Gill Jr. is Syracuse’s top returning wide receiver. He is coming off a solid Holiday Bowl performance, catching four passes for 145 yards in a 52-35 win over Washington State on Dec. 27. In a 31-24 win over Connecticut on Nov. 23, he caught nine passes for 185 yards. In 11 games last season, he caught 31 passes for 570 yards and two touchdowns. See which team to back at SportsLine, and new users can also check out the latest bet365 bonus code to get $200 in bonus bets after placing a $5 bet:

How to make Syracuse vs. Tennessee picks

For Saturday’s Syracuse vs. Tennessee matchup, Hunt is leaning under the total, but he also says a critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back. See what it is at SportsLine.

Who covers in Syracuse vs. Tennessee and what critical x-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Syracuse vs. Tennessee spread you need to jump, all from the expert who returned $698 to $100 players over his last 24 Tennessee picks, and find out.