No. 22 Tennessee will host ETSU in the home opener from Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, TN. But while the game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff, looming bad weather could throw things into a little bit of chaos.
At the time of this publication (9:00 a.m. ET), The Weather Channel is predicting a day full of thunderstorms and rain in Knoxville.
There’s a strong chance of thunderstorms throughout the morning and in the three hours leading up to kickoff. While there still looks to be a chance of rain throughout the late-afternoon window that the game is supposed to be played, it does not appear to be the same thunderstorms that were projected earlier in the day.
While this could affect the game with a potential delay or late start, it is likely to significantly impact Tennessee fans’ tailgating options due to the severe weather projected to occur during the hours leading up to kickoff.
For more on the current weather projections on Saturday in Knoxville, click here.
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Tennessee will kick off the home slate after picking up a season-opening neutral-site win over Oklahoma in Week 1 of the season last weekend against Syracuse. The Vols’ offense was a particular bright spot as Joey Aguilar and the Vols’ trio of running backs combined for nearly 500 yards of total offense. Tennessee’s offensive line protected its quarterback and set up running lanes for the backs, leading to five offensive touchdowns on the day in Atlanta.
We’ll see how potential in-game rain could impact Tennessee’s strategy on offense, but look for the Vols to get some rotational players in the fold on Saturday if the game starts getting lopsided against the Buccaneers.
Speaking of rotational players, we expect to see plenty of that on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday. With Tennessee battling a few key injuries on defense and a SEC opener against Georgia looming in just seven days, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Volunteers unload the bench on defense to get quality reps for younger and rotational players both in the secondary and on the defensive line.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the game from Knoxville on Saturday afternoon.
