Looking for an expert opinion on Tennessee football’s season-opening game against Syracuse? This prediction from a… dolphin… may be the result you’re looking for.
The Georgia Aquarium put one of its dolphins, Salvador, up to the challenge of picking a winner. It put both a Tennessee and Syracuse helmet in front of him and let him take his pick. Ultimately, the Vols were the chosen team to win in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Saturday afternoon.
The Dolphin Decision is in! 🐬
We had our dolphin friends Kei and Salvador at @GeorgiaAquarium make their pick for Syracuse vs Tennessee… see who they’re swimming with!#AflacKickoff pic.twitter.com/aroTddBxXt
— Aflac Kickoff Game (@AflacKickoff) August 25, 2025
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Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET in Atlanta. The game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the first of two significant games to get the season started. The second will also be an SEC-ACC clash when South Carolina and Shane Beamer meet Virginia Tech on Sunday. Beamer’s father, Frank Beamer, is a legendary coach of the Hokies.
For Tennessee, it starts the season as the No. 24 team in the country, according to the AP Poll. On the other hand, Syracuse, coming off a strong season, is unranked. The Orange are losing a lot of key pieces from Fran Brown’s team a year ago and were tasked to make a quick turnaround.
It will also be a chance for a lot of the Vols’ roster to play in their home state. Tennessee recruits Georgia, a hotbed for recruiting talent, well under Josh Heupel. This includes the likes of Mike Matthews, Ethan Davis, Travis Smith Jr., Ty Redmond, Colton Hood, Jordan Burns, Jaedon Harmon, Jake Merklinger, Josh Josephs, Jeremiah Telander, Tyree Weathersby, Jadon Perlotte, Caleb Herring, Tyre West, Sham Umarov and more.
“Game week is finally here,” Heupel said. “Get a chance to go play in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Great venue, great event, and great opportunity for us to go play a really good football program in Syracuse. We got 20 players from the state of Georgia, 15 guys from the Atlanta area. They’re going to have a lot of family and friends at the game, so great way for us to kick it off and find out where we’re at.”
