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The 2021 College Football season is finally here, and Week 1 brings plenty of exciting matchups around the country, so here’s the best Bowling Green vs. Tennessee betting pick, as the Volunteers host the Falcons on Thursday, September 2.&nbsp;



These two non-conference foes meet for the second time, and the Vols had no mercy in their previous encounter with the Falcons in 2015. They beat Bowling Green as 22-point home favorites, 59-30, and the Vols are massive favorites once more, according to <a href="https://www.bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/bovada/">Bovada Sportsbook</a>.



<h2 id="h-the-falcons-have-a-mountain-to-climb-in-week-1">The Falcons have a mountain to climb in Week 1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



The Bowling Falcons have been one of the worst teams in football over the last couple of years. They are riding an eight-game losing streak following a winless 2020 season, as the Falcons dropped all their five contests last year. Bowling Green was allowing a whopping 45.0 points per game while scoring only 11.4 in a return.



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Scot Loeffler enters his third season as Bowling Green head coach. He’ll have a tall task to improve his team’s defense that was awful in 2020. The Falcons’ run defense ranked dead last in the nation, surrendering 310.2 yards per contest, so it’s no strange that their secondary was allowing the third-fewest yards per game (165.6).



Bowling Green’s offensive line is probably the strongest link, and the Falcons ran for 184.0 yards per game last season (49th in the nation). Senior Matt McDonald will be under center after starting all five games in 2020. He tossed for 712 yards, one touchdown, and six interceptions, completing just 43.9% of his passing attempts.&nbsp;



<h2>The Volunteers hope for a bounce-back season</h2>



The Tennessee Volunteers had a terrible 2020 season, going 3-7 in the process and dropping seven of their last eight games. It was the third and final season for head coach Jeremy Pruitt, as the former UCF head coach, Josh Heupel takes over in 2021. Heupel has done a terrific job with the Knights, tallying a 28-8 record across three seasons (1-2 Bowl record).



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Last season, the Vols were scoring 21.5 points per game (89th in the nation) on 141.5 rushing yards (90th) and 204.7 passing yards (86th). They hope Heupel will be able to improve their offense, while the Vols will also have a new guy under center. Junior Joe Milton transferred from Michigan in April after playing 13 games in three years for the Wolverines.



On the other side of the ball, the Vols were giving up 30.1 points per game in 2020. Their secondary was struggling mightily, allowing 265.8 passing yards per game (105th), while the Vols’ run D was 42nd with 141.6 yards allowed per contest.



Trends:



Bowling Green:



<ul><li>1-7 ATS in the last eight games overall</li><li>0-9 ATS in the last nine games on the road</li><li>0-7 ATS in the last seven games played in September</li></ul>



Tennessee:



<ul><li>N/A</li></ul>



<h2>Bowling Green Falcons vs. Tennessee Volunteers Pick</h2>



The spread is enormous, but it tells you enough what the bookies think about this Bowling Green team. The Vols lost a couple of running backs who led the backfield last season, and they are still massive 33.5-point favorites to win this game.



Josh Heupel prefers a high-tempo offense, and his boys should be fired up to prove their worth in Week 1 under the new head coach. The Vols defense shouldn’t have too many problems slowing down the Falcons, who’ll try their best to avoid a blowout. Hopefully, their defense hasn’t improved a lot since the past season.



Pick: Take Tennessee Volunteers -33.5 at -110&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Total:



The teams will need some time to gel things, so I’m expecting a lot of turnovers and defensive mistakes in Week 1. If the Falcons and Vols continue to play defense as they did in 2020, we’ll see a proper high-scoring affair.



The Falcons have yielded 83 points in total over their last two games away from home. Their run defense is a big issue, so the Vols should move the ball easily. Last year, Josh Heupel’s UCF was the fifth-highest scoring team in the nation (44.3 points per game).



Pick: Go over 59.5 points

Bowling Green vs. Tennessee Odds, Pick, Prediction 9/2/21

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From Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, we have the Pirates and Reds facing off in an NL Central matchup. This one gets started at 6:40 PM ET, and it is being televised by SN PT. The money line odds have the Reds at -124 compared to the Pirates at +105. The over/under line is at 9 runs.

Cincinnati is looking to snap a two-game losing streak and move above .500 for the season, as they are 74-80. Pittsburgh is 5th in the NL Central with a record of 72-81. Nick Martinez gets the start for the Reds, while the Pirates are starting Mitch Keller.<h3>CINCINNATI REDS VS PITTSBURGH PIRATES BETTING PICK</h3>The Pick: Cincinnati Reds Moneyline -124This game will be played at Great American Ball Park at 6:40 ET on Friday, September 20th.<h3>HOW TO BET THE PIRATES VS REDS:</h3><ul><li>We have the Reds winning by a score of 6 to 4</li><li>If you're looking for a run line pick, we also like the Reds to cover</li><li>As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 10 runs and like the over</li></ul><h3>Pirates Records & Stats</h3>The Pirates are coming off a game in which they closed out their series vs. the Cardinals with a 3-2 win. Pittsburgh was the +126 underdog on the money line going into this road game. Things started off well for the Pirates, as they got on the board with a run in the 4th inning and added another run in the 7th.

Luis Ortiz put together a good start for the Pirates, going six innings and giving up just two runs on five hits. He only had two strikeouts in the outing and got the win. The Pirates' offense was carried by Yasmani Grandal, who went 1/3 with a homer and scored two runs.Pittsburgh is 72-81 overall, putting them 5th in the NL Central, two games behind the Reds for 4th place. Currently, they trail the Brewers by 16 games in the division. The Pirates are just .500 at home (38-40) compared to 34-41 on the road.

As the road underdog, the Pirates are 23-34 this season, and they are 38-53 overall as the underdog. They have gone 34-28 when favored this season, and their overall series record is 19-23-6. Pittsburgh lost their most recent series, going down to the Cardinals 3-1.When it comes to betting the run line, the Pirates have been a solid play this season, going 82-71. They have been especially good on the road, where they are 44-31. They have been a better play as the underdog, going 58-33, compared to 24-38 as the favorite. The Pirates' average run margin is -0.4 this season, with a scoring margin of -0.3 on the road and -0.5 at home. Their average run margin in winning games is 3.2, while it is -3.6 in losing games.With an average combined run average of 8.7 runs per game, the Pittsburgh Pirates have an over/under record of 74-77 on the season. When the over/under line is set at 9 runs, the Pirates have gone 4-10-1. Only 4.6% of their games have had over/under lines set at 9 runs, with the majority of their games having lower lines.Mitch Keller will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Royals, as he gets the start for the Pirates today. In that start, which came on September 14th, he took the loss, giving up 4 earned runs in 6 innings of work. Looking back over his last four starts, Keller has finished with a no-decision, followed by three straight losses. His record for the season is 11-10, and he has an ERA of 3.87. This year, opponents are batting .247 off Keller. The right-hander has made 15 starts on the road, going 6-6 with a 5.34 ERA.Heading into today's game, Bryan Reynolds and Bryan De La Cruz are the Pirates' top home run hitters, with 22 and 20 homers, respectively. Reynolds is also the team's leader in RBIs, with 85, while De La Cruz is 3rd on the team with 66 RBIs. Reynolds comes into the game with a batting average of .280, while De La Cruz is hitting just .233 this season. Andrew McCutchen is also tied for 2nd on the team with 20 homers but is batting just .237.

Over his last four games, Billy Cook is 3/10 with a home run and two runs scored. For the season, he is batting .280. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has gone 9/20 in his last five games but has yet to hit a home run this season. Yasmani Grandal has also gone deep in his last three games but has just one hit in his last three games.<h3>Reds Records & Stats</h3>The Reds will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Braves with a 15-3 loss. Cincinnati was the +182 underdog at home going into this matchup. Things really got away from the Reds in the 4th inning, as the Braves scored seven runs in the inning. Cincinnati's offense scored their only three runs in the 3rd.

Julian Aguiar got the start for the Reds and took the loss. He only lasted four innings, giving up seven earned runs. Offensively, the Reds had 10 hits but only scored three runs. Blake Dunn was hot at the top of the lineup, going 2/3 with a homer and two RBIs.Cincinnati is 74-80 overall, putting them 4th in the NL Central. Currently, they are 14.5 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. The Reds lost the first two games of their series vs. the Braves but took the final game to avoid the sweep.

At home, the Reds are 37-41 this year compared to 37-39 on the road. As the home favorite, the Reds are 21-27 and 33-33 as the favorite overall. Cincinnati's series record is 19-27-3 this year, and they are 5-5 over their last 10 games.The Reds have been a solid run line bet this season, going 83-71 overall. They have been especially good on the road, going 47-29 on the run line. Their average run margin in winning games is 3.8, while it is -3.4 in losing games.The Cincinnati Reds have an over/under record of 72-75 this season, with an average line of 9 runs per game. When the line is set at 9 runs, their record is 8-20-5. The combined run average in their games is 8.8 runs per game, and 51.9% of their games have had lower lines than 9 runs.Cincinnati starter Nick Martinez has been pitching well recently, as he has picked up the win in each of his last three outings. Most recently, he faced the Twins and got the win, going six innings and giving up just one earned run. Looking at his overall numbers, Martinez has made 14 starts, 40 appearances, and has a record of 9-6. His ERA for the season is 3.37, along with a WHIP of 1.08. Opposing batters are hitting .236 off Martinez this season. The right-hander has made four quality starts this year and is averaging 7.29 strikeouts per nine innings.
Elly De La Cruz comes into the game as the Reds' leading home run hitter, and he is also 2nd on the team in RBIs. De La Cruz is batting .260 for the season and has gone deep 24 times. He is also on a four-game hitting streak. Spencer Steer and Jeimer Candelario are tied for 2nd on the team with 20 homers, but both are batting under .230 for the season.

As a team, the Reds are averaging 4.4 runs per game, which is 15th in the league. They have been a very consistent offense, as they are also 15th in home runs and have the league's 17th best batting average. Overall, their team on-base percentage and slugging percentage numbers are below average.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Betting Pick & Prediction 9/20/24

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