The countdown to Tennessee’s first season under coach Josh Heupel, its 100th season inside Neyland Stadium and its 125th season as a football program can now be measured in hours.
Volunteers players and fans alike are eager to get the 3-7 taste of last year out of their systems, and Bowling Green could be the perfect remedy given that Tennessee is a five-touchdown favorite entering Thursday’s 8 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network. After COVID-19 guidelines limited Neyland’s capacity to fewer than 25,000 last season, the Vols are expected to encounter a significantly larger audience when they run through the Power T formed by the Pride of the Southland marching band.
“Our players and coaches are full of anticipation,” Heupel said Wednesday during his first appearance on the weekly Southeastern Conference teleconference. “When I look back over the last seven or eight months and what we’ve been able to build here from where we started and how we’ve grown together with such accountability and connection and trust in one another – I’m just really proud of what we’ve done.
“We’re at the point right now where it’s time to go play and see where we’re at.”
In honor of Tennessee’s milestones in Neyland and as a program, here are the season openers from yesteryear that stick out most.