Bowling Green @ Tennessee preview

Plenty of teams in the SEC enter the season seeking stability at quarterback, but Tennessee opens the 2015 campaign at home Saturday against Bowling Green with no questions under center. Junior Joshua Dobbs won four of his five starts and earned MVP honors in the Taxslayer Bowl last season, and the talented duo of Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt on defense gives the 25th-ranked Volunteers reason to believe they can win the SEC East for the first time since 2007.

But Tennessee must fill several holes as the season begins, due to injuries to safety LaDarrell McNeil as well as receivers Jason Croom and Vincent Perry. Depth is a strength for the Volunteers, who played more freshmen than any other FBS team last season en route to snapping a string of four consecutive losing campaigns. Dobbs passed for 1,206 yards and nine touchdowns – completing 63.3 percent of his passes – and added eight rushing scores. The Falcons bring back every offensive starter from a team that won its second consecutive MAC East Division title and won a bowl game for the first time in 10 years.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: Tennessee -21

ABOUT BOWLING GREEN (2014: 8-6): Quarterback Matt Johnson, who is back after suffering a season-ending hip injury in last year’s season opener, passed for 3,467 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2013. He has plenty of playmakers in running backs Travis Greene (949 yards rushing, 12 touchdowns) and Fred Coppet (764 yards), and receiver Roger Lewis (73 receptions for 1,093 yards – both school freshman-records). There are concerns on defense, where the Falcons deploy eight new starters.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (2014: 7-6): The Volunteers allowed a conference-high 43 sacks a season ago and lost guard Marcus Jackson for the season with a biceps injury, but there is plenty of firepower for new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. Running back Jalen Hurd rushed for 899 yards as a freshman last season while Alabama transfer Alvin Kamara will help carry the load. Defensively, Barnett and Maggitt combined for 21 sacks and 35 ½ tackles for loss a season ago while linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (101 tackles last year) and cornerback Cameron Sutton are critical pieces.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Tennessee suspended leading receiver Alton Howard (54 catches, 618 yards in 2014) for Saturday’s game for an unspecified violation of team rules.
2. The Volunteers face a difficult schedule early, starting with No. 19 Oklahoma at home Sept. 12 and three consecutive games against ranked SEC foes (home games against No. 20 Arkansas and No. 9 Georgia as well as a road trip to No. 3 Alabama) in October.
3. Kamara, who did not play a game at Alabama before rushing for 1,211 yards and 18 touchdowns at Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College, has three years of eligibility remaining.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 41, Bowling Green 17