Date: Thursday, September 2nd
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
Venue: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville TN
Network: SEC
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Tennessee begins the latest era, namely the Heupel era after Jeremy Pruitt made himself completely expendable by generally being bad at everything. The transfer market has given and taken away and we don't yet know on which side of the benefit equation we fall, but this will be a good chance for fans to see a lot of new faces as well as some Pruitt recruits who never got their shot. Bowling Green is projected to be a historically bad team. I'm not going to insult your intelligence by making this out to be a tight contest, but then again, I wonder what my Georgia State thread looked like a couple of years ago. Hmmm... Anyways, this is what we need to see on Thursday night.
Keys to Victory:
1. Find your QB: By all reports, except for from Heupel himself, Milton will start this game and has done nothing but create separation over fall camp. That's great news. Regardless, expect the scoreboard to eventually find it's way to a lot of LED lights and if hopefully... we will see 3 QB's. An argument can be made to give your #1 all the practice he can get, but if Milton looks fantastic, you want to give those other guys a chance to perform under the lights because you are always one snap away from needing them to run the rest of your season.
2. Offensive Rhythm: It will likely take a little while for the offense to find their groove for sustained drives, although big plays leading to touchdowns are not out of the picture while they are working that out. The Vols need to get into a flow and be able to show they can sustain drives and not just survive on the big shots against lesser opponents. There is little doubt that we will have scoring plays of over 50 yards, but that becomes harder and harder when the SEC schedule tees up.
3. Defensive Communication: I'd like to see the defense know how to line up and defend. Our supposed defensive mastermind of a head coach last year struggled with this. Show me a defense that lines up, knows what to do, and does the thing.
4. Have the Fun: The first thing Heupel did when he got here was work on the culture and bonding of the team. Granted, we see the same type of articles and rhetoric with every coaching change, but it seems that this team is tightly bound and having fun again. It will be important to enjoy this one because rougher days are coming this season. Show the world that Tennessee is where the party is at and get recruits interested. A lot of people will be watching on a Thursday night, and it's our time to shine.
Prediction: Big plays mixed with some quicker three and outs, but eventually, better sustained drives. The defense out talents Bowling Green, but doesn't neccesarily look great in doing so. The Vols do not begin the season with a fumble, which is an immediate improvement over Pruitt's first play, so things are only looking up from here.
TN 52
BG 13
