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Auburn, Texas A&M added to Tennessee football’s schedule

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers leads his team to to the field prior to a game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers leads his team to to the field prior to a game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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The Southeastern Conference has set the Tennessee football Volunteers’ 2020 schedule.

It’s official. Tennessee football will restore one rivalry, and Jeremy Pruitt will face an old boss. The SEC announced the 10-game, all-conference slate for all 14 teams on Friday, which was decided on as a way to deal with coronavirus.

Each team added two opponents from the opposite division to their eight-game conference schedule. The Vols landed the Auburn Tigers on the road and the Texas A&M Aggies at home, in addition to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Arkansas Razorbacks already being on their schedule.

Because of this Tennessee football faces five of the six teams in the SEC’s preseason Coaches Poll top 25 when you add the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators from the East. The only top 25 team they won’t face are the defending national champion the LSU Tigers.

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However, the Vols still landed a tough slate. They face Auburn two years after visiting them Jeremy Pruitt’s first year, when they pulled of a shocking upset. That ended a six-game winning streak by the Tigers in that series dating back to 2003, and the two used to be huge rivals, playing every year from 1956 to 1991.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M and UT have some history with its coaches. Pruitt’s first job as a defensive coordinator was under Jimbo Fisher with the Florida State Seminoles in 2013, and that year, he helped Fisher win his only national championships. We should add that UT hired running backs coach Jay Graham away from Texas A&M this offseason.

As a result, there are lots of intriguing things in this new schedule, even if it makes things much tougher for Rocky Top. However, it makes for an exciting schedule that could turn this into a very interesting season.

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Opening game for the teams is Sept. 26, although the SEC hasn’t announced the dates of this 10-game schedule. The league announced that would come in the next two weeks. Initially, Tennessee football was set to face Florida on that date. We’ll have to wait and see if that still remains the case.

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