Tennessee Football: Which Game Should Vols Wear Smokey Gray Uniforms?

Tennessee football scored a turning point win over the Georgia Bulldogs last year in alternate uniforms. Which game should the Volunteers wear them in 2016?

It was the most memorable game of the season in 2015. The Tennessee Vols had turned into a massive disappointment at 2-3 despite their first preseason Top 25 ranking in seven years. What’s worse is they blew two-touchdown or more leads in all three games, two of them in the fourth quarter.

Then Butch Jones regrouped the team, and Tennessee came out against the SEC East favorite Georgia Bulldogs in their new Nike-designed Smokey Gray uniforms.

The uniforms provided a reversal of fortunes, as the Vols this time were the team to fall behind early and come back.

And did they ever come back!

You know the story. Joshua Dobbs had the best game of his career with five total touchdowns in leading the Vols back from a 24-3 deficit to win 38-31.

But with the Dawgs on the road this year, when should the Vols put on the uniforms again?

The Battle at Bristol has enough hype that it’s unnecessary.

Looking at the seven official home games they have, there’s no reason to do it on a noon game against the Ohio Bobcats. The Nov. 5 match-up against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles would also be a waste of time. But literally every other game has a case.

The opener against Appalachian State is a Thursday night game against a program that is expected to be very dangerous this year.

Florida and Alabama are both home games in 2016, and their significance speaks for itself.

Then there’s Kentucky and Missouri, both late November games. So which ones to choose from?

Let’s eliminate Appalachian State. It’s an opening game that would be more meant for retro jerseys than the Smokey Grays.

Florida is too important of a game, and the last time they did a gimmick with the Gators was the checkerboard stadium two years ago. They lost. For superstitious purposes, that game should be eliminated.

Now we’re down to Alabama, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Missouri is the last home game of the year. Senior day should supersede Smokey Gray uniforms. And that brings us to Alabama and Kentucky.

In truth, they could be used for both games. But the Vols should give them a shot against the Tide. The Wildcats likely won’t be that good this year, and although Tennessee-Alabama is a huge game on its own, the Vols will likely already know where they stand in the SEC East when that game arrives. So this is just a huge game likely without divisional implications.

And while it’s a rivalry, we have our own reasons to believe that this is a year the Vols can actually beat the Tide.

So why not wear something special for the potential upset and end of the streak?

Our call here at All for Tennessee is for the Vols to don the Smokey Grays against the Tide. And if Kentucky is a decent team and that game in November is a night game, they should do it then as well. A night game in the cold in Knoxville would make those Smokey Grays look amazing.

But the main game to use them should be against the Tide.

must read: Analyzing the Difficulty of the 2016 Tennessee Football Schedule

What do you think? Feel free to leave your comments below.