Tennessee football gets two primetime kickoffs ahead of SEC play

Tennessee football is preparing for its fourth season under Josh Heupel and its second season with double-digit wins. If the Vols want to achieve that feat, they will have to run the offense with a redshirt freshman. 

We saw glimpses of Nico Iamaleava last season during his redshirt season, but not much. Besides the Citrus Bowl, where the Vols beat Iowa 35-0, Nico's playing time was during garbage time against inferior opponents. 

Regardless, we will see how Nico fares as the top guy in the quarterbacks' room when Chattanooga makes the trip to Neyland Stadium on August 31. The Vols will open their season against the Mocs at 12:45 PM ET. 

After Tennessee's Week 1 matchup against the Mocs, the Vols will have back-to-back primetime games on the schedule for Weeks 2 and 3. In Week 2, the Vols will travel to Charlotte to play North Carolina State in the Duke's Mayo Classic at 7:30 PM ET, and in Week 3, they will return home to face Kent State under the lights at 7:45 PM ET in Neyland. 

The Vols' Week 2 game against NC State will be the third-night game on the new "SEC on ABC" broadcast, which is taking the place of "SEC on CBS," which hosted primetime SEC games for the past couple of decades. Other primetime games being hosted on ABC are Notre Dame at Texas A&M on August 31 and USC vs. LSU on September 1 in Las Vegas. 

Tennessee's Week 1 and 3 games will be broadcast on SEC Network. The Vols will look to take care of business against Chattanooga and Kent State before heading into SEC play. 

The Vols open its conference schedule this year at Oklahoma, which will be an early road test for Tennessee. The SEC has not released its game times for the remainder of Tennessee's games this season and will announce those game times later in the summer.