Scott Van Pelt has made his pick against the spread for Tennessee vs. NC state in Week 2.

Tennessee is a double-digit favorite this week as it plays the first big regular-season game of the Nico Iamaleava era. Van Pelt picked this game as part of his weekly ‘Winners’ segment on Friday.

Van Pelt picked underdogs in all 7 of his chosen games this week, including the Wolfpack. Van Pelt is on NC State +10 against Tennessee, although he implied he’s not all that confident in this pick.

“Remember what HOTYB stands for?” Van Pelt said. “How about HOTYBs for Week 2? Why wouldn’t you? That’s a ‘hold on to your butts’ special and you’re gonna have to. Tennessee might be really good. Like, real dangerous on offense. NC State, meanwhile, trailed Western Carolina in their opener in the 4th quarter. But I trust Dave Doeren’s bunch on defense to make this a 4-quarter game.”

ESPN says Van Pelt is 6-4 all-time when picking the Wolfpack in this segment.

It’s a bold pick for Van Pelt, who acknowledged that Tennessee’s offensive upside may end up burning him in this game. A priority for Iamaleava and the Vols will need to be taking care of the ball — NC State’s defense has been very proficient at creating takeaways in recent years.

Kickoff from Charlotte is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night.

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