Tennessee football Thursday opener is to generate immediate interest

A staple of Danny White’s success in his coaching searches has been an attempt to generate immediate and early buzz that carries through. Well, it looks like he was just part of another move to set up Tennessee football to do just that under Josh Heupel.

The athletic department announced Tuesday that UT’s opener with the Bowling Green Falcons was moved to Thursday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be on the SEC Network. Make no mistake, this is a setup for Heupel to immediately draw national interest.

Bowling Green’s track record under Scott Loeffler has been abysmal the past two years. They went 3-9 in 2019 and 0-5 in 2020. It’s not just their losses, though, that stand out. How they lost is why this is a setup in favor of Heupel and Tennessee football.

Loeffler, who is a former offensive coordinator, was supposed to continue the tradition of no defense and great offense at Bowling Green. Well, he kept the tradition of no defense. In 2019, Bowing Green was 126th out of 130 FBS teams in points allowed per game at 38.6. A year later, they allowed him 45 points per game, falling to 127th out of 128 FBS teams.

To be fair, the offense was just as bad both years, but if Bowling Green takes a step forward under Loeffler, it’ll be on offense. If they don’t take a step forward at all, the defense will remain atrocious. Either way, that’s a guarantee.

How does this help the Vols? Well, Heupel is obviously known for his teams putting up tons of points. No matter what Rocky Top does this year, the games are expected to be fun simply because fans expect them to score at will.

There’s no better team to score at will against than Bowling Green. This means that despite all the issues facing the Vols, they could potentially help kickoff the season by hanging 50 to 60 points on their opponent in a primetime slot.

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Honestly, it’s a brilliant move by White. Even if things fall apart down the stretch the rest of the year, he made sure Tennessee football’s best chance to put on a show that is on brand for Heupel will be televised in a primetime slot.

First impressions can make a splash impact. Ask Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They were 2-6 at one point last year, but morale remained high because they upset the defending national champion LSU Tigers in the season opener.

Okay, putting a basketball score up against Bowling Green isn’t going to be the same as beating LSU. It is, though, going to generate a certain amount of buzz that is desperately needed in Knoxville right now.

Such a strong first impression, even against a mediocre team, can also help with recruiting. Lane Kiffin’s first game was a 62-7 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The next week, Tyler Bray committed along with wide receiver Ted Meline, who was a four-star at the time.

Using that as a reference point, a great offensive performance by Tennessee football in a Thursday night game could draw interest from elite offensive prospects across the country. Altogether, Thursday night games aren’t the desired norm. In this case, though, it’s the perfect setup for the Vols to get everybody interested in them early.