Tennessee football opens the season in two weeks against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. But should the Volunteers be playing on a Thursday night?
When I grew up, the fall football schedule went as follows: middle school football on Thursday nights, high school football on Friday nights, college football all day Saturday and NFL all day Sunday.
Now college football is making a stronghold regularly on Thursday nights.
Related Story: Tennessee Football: Ranking Games on Vols 2016 Schedule by Importance
Vanderbilt and South Carolina are the most notable SEC schools that almost always have a Thursday night game. PAC 12 football usually has a game every Thursday night along with the American Athletic Conference.
Even the Mid American Conference has some games played on Tuesday night. Which is very unusual.
In two weeks, Tennessee will begin its 2016 season on a Thursday night.
When the decision was made, it caught fans by surprise. Fans thought Tennessee shouldn’t be playing on a Thursday night, that it was for the “smaller” programs.
They have a point. You don’t see the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Florida or Florida State playing on any other day than Saturday.
Fans felt as if it was a weak move to reschedule the game away from Saturday.
Thursday night takes away the college football atmosphere, somewhat. When the Vols opened against Utah State on a Sunday night a couple years ago, fans commented that it didn’t feel like a usual Knoxville game day.
Well, fans, you can calm down. The rescheduling of the Appalachian State game can come as a gift to the Vol faithful.
Sep. 3 is full of great Week One matchups. Alabama and USC in Arlington. LSU and Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. UCLA and Texas A&M in College Station. Georgia and North Carolina in Atlanta. And Clemson and Auburn in Auburn.
Also, Tennessee can show they are for real with the whole SEC watching.
must read: Tennessee Football: Who Will be Vols Starting QB After Josh Dobbs Leaves?
If Tennessee takes care of business as expected, Vol fans can sit back in their lazy boy, open a beer and enjoy the return of college football sitting at 1-0.