At this point, everybody simply wants to play.
Tennessee and No. 23 Auburn are scheduled to meet Saturday night inside Jordan-Hare Stadium after having football games this past weekend postponed due to coronavirus outbreaks within the rosters of their opponents. The Volunteers were supposed to host No.5 Texas A&M, while the Tigers had to halt a visit to Mississippi State.
The Southeastern Conference scratched four of its seven games last week, and a season-high 15 Bowl Subdivision games were either canceled or postponed.
“Obviously we can’t predict the future,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said Monday afternoon on his weekly Zoom call. “I believe we all knew when we started this that the players and coaches knew there were no guarantees. I’ve been really proud of our football team and the way they’ve stayed positive through the circumstances, and I think that says a lot about them as people and about their character.
“They’re excited about this opportunity Saturday, and hopefully they’ll get a chance to play.”