Matchup analysis
Before kickoff our model projected Tennessee 51.6, Furman 11.2 at Neyland Stadium in Week 1. That is a heavy edge: Tennessee wins about 100% of the time by our estimate, with a projected margin of 40.4 points and 62.7 combined points. Tags: favorite holds, blowout brewing, leans high scoring.
Furman is 1-0, scoring 20 and allowing 3 points per game (+17 per game). Tennessee has not played a game yet this season, so its number leans on last year's results.
Furman plays in the FCS, so this is a cross-division game. Our ratings put FCS teams on the FBS scale through a measured gap from every FBS-vs-FCS result, which is why Tennessee's projected edge is large even if the records look similar. Cross-division projections are a little less precise than FBS-vs-FBS ones.
College football is noisy: even a well-rated projection misses the final margin by about 14 points on average. Based on how real results have scattered around our numbers, the final margin should land somewhere between Tennessee by 18 and Tennessee by 63 about 80% of the time.
Tennessee gets about 2.1 points for playing at home. Even on a neutral field the ratings would still favour Tennessee by about 38.3. The game is on SECN+.
Result: Furman 9, Tennessee 56. The model had the right winner; the margin was off by 6.6 points and the total by 2.3.
Market lines
Market lines · Source: The Odds API, ESPN, Action Network · Updated Oct 29, 9:25 AM UTC. Shown for information; not an input to our projections.
| Provider | Spread (open → now) | Total (open → now) | Moneyline (Furman / Tennessee) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consensus | Tennessee -47.25 → Tennessee -49.25 | 66.5 | — / — |
| Bovada | Tennessee -48 → Tennessee -49 | 66.5 | — / — |
| DraftKings | Tennessee -46.5 → Tennessee -49.5 | 66.5 | — / — |
This game's lines: CollegeFootballData.com · read Oct 22, 6:37 PM UTC.
| Projection | Margin | Total | Tennessee win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our model | Tennessee -40.5 | 62.7 | 100% |
| Market consensus | Tennessee -49.5 | 66.5 | 100% |
| Blended projection | Tennessee -48 | 65.8 | 100% |
Blended projection = 0.16 x our margin + 0.84 x the market margin, weights fitted on past seasons (see methodology).
Model vs market
- Tennessee win probability
- model 100% · market (no-vig) —
- Margin
- model Tennessee -40.4 · market Tennessee -49.25 · difference -8.9 pts (Tennessee view)
- Total
- model 62.7 · market 66.5 · difference -3.8
Model margin is 8.9 pts more toward Furman than the market.
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Original projection vs new formula
| Projection | Score | Win prob | Margin miss | Total miss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original projection | Furman 11.2, Tennessee 51.6 | Tennessee 100%right winner | 6.6 | 2.3 |
| New formula | Furman 1.1, Tennessee 54.3 | Tennessee 100%right winner | 6.2 | 9.7 |
Final: Furman 9, Tennessee 56. Original = the number we posted before kickoff. New formula (2026-10-21 matchup terms) = the current model re-run with only the games played before this one.
Furman vs Tennessee: stat comparison
2025 season numbers (this season's sample is still too small).
| Stat | Furman | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 24.4 | 39.8#6 |
| Points allowed per game | 31.0 | 28.8#91 |
| Yards per play | 5.48 | 6.90#14 |
| Yards per play allowed | 6.42 | 5.89#76 |
| Rushing yards per game | 113.8 | 185.4#46 |
| Net passing yards per game | 243.9 | 305.2#5 |
| Rushing yards allowed per game | 187.8 | 172.2#84 |
| Net passing yards allowed per game | 245.9 | 243.1#110 |
| Turnovers per game | 1.42 | 1.00#63 |
| Takeaways per game | 0.75 | 1.31#33 |
| Sacks per game | 1.92 | 2.54#25 |
| Sacks allowed per game | 1.75 | 1.69#58 |
| Stat | Furman | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| EPA per play | -0.06 | +0.17#10 |
| EPA per play allowed | +0.04 | +0.06#96 |
| Success rate | 40.8% | 50.8%#5 |
| Success rate allowed | 44.7% | 44.1%#98 |
| Explosive play rate | 11.0% | 14.7%#17 |
| Explosive plays allowed | 13.4% | 13.2%#95 |
| Havoc rate | 10.9% | 13.4%#46 |
| Havoc allowed | 14.0% | 9.2%#6 |
| Points per scoring opportunity | 3.61 | 4.75#11 |
| Points per opportunity allowed | 3.98 | 4.19#106 |
| Average starting field position | opp 7 | own 30#74 |
| Opponents' starting field position | opp 6 | own 28#38 |
| Offensive plays per game (pace) | 65.3 | 71.1#19 |
| Stat | Furman | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Rushing EPA per play | -0.12 | +0.14#14 |
| Passing EPA per play | -0.03 | +0.19#17 |
| Rushing EPA allowed | +0.03 | +0.11#124 |
| Passing EPA allowed | +0.03 | +0.01#71 |
| Rushing success rate | 38.7% | 52.1%#4 |
| Passing success rate | 43.2% | 49.4%#9 |
| Run stuff rate | 18.7% | 13.4%#8 |
| Passing-down success rate | 29.9% | 34.4%#23 |
| Passing-down success allowed | 33.1% | 26.9%#24 |
| Third-down conversion rate | 40.0% | 50.9%#8 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 41.8% | 42.0%#85 |
| Red-zone touchdown rate | 56.2% | 72.1%#17 |
| Red-zone TD rate allowed | 56.3% | 71.1%#125 |
# = rank among 136 FBS teams. Efficiency numbers exclude garbage time. Per-play numbers of teams with a weak schedule are pulled toward their opponent-adjusted values (fully at one standard deviation below an average schedule). Source: play-by-play (cfbfastR / sportsdataverse), aggregated by us.
More: Furman schedule · Tennessee schedule · all Week 1 projections
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