Tennessee vs. Syracuse in the season-opener gets worst kickoff time possible

You have got to be kidding. That's what plenty of Tennessee football fans have in mind right now, as the official kickoff time for Week 1 has been set for 12 p.m. What? Yup, that's unfortunately the case for when Syracuse and the Vols open up the new campaign.

This game is being played in Atlanta too, so the early start definitely is not what the traveling fans had in mind. Brett McMurphy was the one to break the news. Funny enough, Texas vs. Ohio State is also scheduled for noon on Aug. 30. Tennessee supporters are not happy about this and we don't blame them.

Tennessee vs. Syracuse will star at noon for Week 1 in Atlanta

On one hand, some people are going to be happy that this game is getting the spotlight, with ABC set to broadcast the Week 1 dance to a national audience. We get it, that's going to be great exposure for the new-look offense for Josh Heupel.

At the same time, 12 p.m. really doesn't sit well for so many folks out there. A lot of Vols supporters are voicing their displeasure online, but at this point, nothing can be done about things. Now, everyone is going to have to start their day much earlier than we could have imagined.

Regardless of the start time, the matchup with Syracuse is going to be massive for Heupel for several reasons. While the Tennessee head man is yet to announce who his Week 1 starter will be, plenty of signs are pointing to UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar winning the job.

After two strong falls putting up big numbers with App State, it's time to see what Aguilar can do with his new SEC squad. The Orange defense will be the first one he sees and he's going to want to make a statement. He'll have the rest of the country watching, which will provide extra pressure for him. Aguilar will look to silence his doubters, but we just wish he didn't have to do so with such a lame kickoff time to open the new year.