Tennessee football faces the Southern Miss Golden Eagles Saturday in the most meaningless game in history for Volunteers fans.
In the past, Tennessee football has played games that don’t generate much interest. Heck, during this decade their season has usually been over in November anyway. On top of that, the Vols would always have a terrible opponent like Southern Miss in November with nothing to play for.
But it’s never been this bad.
When Tennessee takes the field at Neyland Stadium for homecoming Saturday night, Vols fans will have nothing to cheer for. The season is already a loss and a disappointment.
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That alone, though, isn’t what makes the game meaningless. Tennessee is also building for no future.
The Vols have not announced the firing of Butch Jones to reinvigorate the team and salvage what’s left of 2017. At the same time, they have taken a step back that everybody knows the program is heading in the wrong direction.
So when they face a 5-3 Conference USA team with a 3-5 record Saturday, there is literally nothing to excite them.
If they win, they’re 4-5 and delaying Jones’s firing another week. If they lose, well, the Vols still likely won’t make a bowl game, and John Currie will still likely not move on his decision to fire Jones.
All of this makes many Tennessee football fans want to root against the Vols anyway Saturday night. That brings more interest than anything winning could bring.
Just know this is all Currie’s fault. If he had fired Jones midseason, Vols fans would know this is a lame duck season and they’d watch their team for pride. Getting back to a bowl game and supporting the players would all be worth it.
But complete inaction from the athletic department has turned into massive apathy for Tennessee football fans. And as a result, there has never been less reason to be up for a game than this Southern Miss game. It’s why #EmptyNeyland is so strong.