Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 4/25/15. The University of Tennessee's head coach Butch Jones calls drills during the Dish Orange & White Game in Knoxville on Saturday, April 25, 2015.
Staff photo by Jake Daniels
A Tennessee fan takes off his cap in celebration after a touchdown by the Vols during the Music City Bowl in Nashville on Thursday evening.KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee football coach Butch Jones hopes his team opens the season on Saturday in front of a capacity crowd at a sold-out Nissan Stadium.
There's some work to be done to make that happen, however.
There are about 10,000 tickets left for the Volunteers' 2015 opener against Bowling Green, Nashville Sports Council director of communications Brandon Cox said Monday afternoon.
Cox said ticket sales saw "pretty good movement" over the weekend for the game at the 69,798-seat home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. All of the remaining tickets are for upper-level seats. Tickets are available at http://nashvillesports.com/vols or through Tennessee's ticket office.
The Notre Dame-LSU matchup in December's Music City Bowl drew 60,419, and Tennessee's last game in the stadium -- the infamous double-overtime loss to North Carolina in the 2010 Music City Bowl -- drew a bowl-record 69,143.
The Vols enter the season ranked 25th in both preseason polls, something that hasn't happened for the program in seven years.
"I know our players are looking forward to playing in Nissan Stadium and playing in Nashville," Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said Monday.
"We need a home-field advantage, and Vol nation has been outstanding. When we've asked them to respond, they've responded. When we've asked them to come and fill Neyland Stadium and have 40,000-plus for an open practice, they've responded.
"We need Vol nation to respond to make this a home-field advantage.
"We need to sell this football game out."
The Vols have 16 players from the mid-state area on the roster, and many of their key contributors (running back Jalen Hurd, offensive lineman Jashon Robertson, defensive end Derek Barnett) are from Nashville.
"I'm excited to play in Nashville, just because I'm from there and a bunch of guys on my team are as well," Barnett said. "Our family and friends will be there. But preparation-wise, it's going to be the same for me."
Tennessee originally was going to play UAB in this game, but the Blazers's decision to stop their football program forced the Vols to find another opponent.
The Vols quickly found Bowling Green, the two-time defending MAC East Division winners, as the replacement opponent.
Tennessee's home opener will be next Saturday against No. 19 Oklahoma.
"It's neat being somewhere different," safety Brian Randolph said. "I'd definitely rather have a home game. But going over there gives our a young people a chance to be on the road in a different atmosphere, so I think it'll a good experience for us."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.