Tennessee will finally get a bit of a break in its SEC schedule. The Vols will play Vanderbilt at noon on Nov. 30 in Nashville.
That’s probably a welcome announcement for Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel. The Vols have played night games in all but two games this season and have only played one SEC team, Alabama at 3:30 p.m. EST, earlier than 7 o’clock. The Vols haven’t played an SEC team in the early television time this season.
The Vols will play UTEP on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST. That’s a welcome change for Heupel, who holds his practices in the morning.
“I do think early, because of our practice schedule, those guys know how to get their bodies ready to roll,” he said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “It’s been awhile since we’ve had a true early kickoff. Our guys will be ready for this week.”
The game against the Miners could provide Tennessee with a unique challenge. The Vols will want to be impressive for the College Football Playoff committee, which will announce its updated rankings on Tuesday evening. Tennessee could also use the non-conference match up to develop its youth. Heupel didn’t want to go there.
“Man, we’re a long ways away from 2025,” Heupel said, “But we’re always intentional with developing our young guys, some of those that are on the field and some of those that aren’t. How do we continue to get them better, but also in leadership roles?”
Leadership could be important this week after the Vols suffered a deflating 31-17 loss to Georgia on Saturday.
