The schedule of the new look for Tennessee for the 2020 season is out after the SEC revealed its full-length 10-game conferences only on Monday night on the SEC Network. In addition to the eight league games already on the schedule, the Vols had previously added SEC opponents Auburn (away) and Texas A&M (home) to their schedule following the July 30 conference decision to move to a conference-only format amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Tennessee’s revised schedule includes multiple games at its non-traditional spots.
As announced earlier Monday afternoon, the Vols’ new season opener will be in South Carolina on September 26, the new launch date announced by the SEC last week.
The Tennessee home opener will be up against Missouri in the second week of the season before the Vols face Georgia in Athens by October 10th. The Tennessee-Kentucky game at Neyland Stadium this season increases from November to October 17, while the annual rivalry clash with Alabama remains unchanged and is set for October 24, as the Vols get back-to-back home games. The Vols get their open date after five games and finish with games in Arkansas, against Texas A&M at home, at Auburn and at Vanderbilt before ending the season against Florida at home on December 5th.
NEW TENNESSEE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 26: In South Carolina
October 3: Missouri
October 10: in Georgia
Oct 17: Kentucky
Oct 24: Alabama
Oct 31: Open
Nov. 7: In Arkansas
Nov 14: Texas A&M
November 21: in Auburn
November 28: at Vanderbilt
Dec. 5: Florida
Kickoff times and television shows are likely to be announced at a later date. The SEC told 247Sports national college football writer Brandon Marcello on Monday that it is in talks with CBS, ESPN regarding those games before the start of the season. Later in the season, these details will be released the usual 12 days before the game.
The SEC Championship Game is currently scheduled to be played on Dec. 19. At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The conference built in an open week in the new appearance schedule the week before the title game. The two open dates (each team gets one in the middle of the season,) provide the SEC flexibility in case games need to be postponed or moved to meet potential outbreaks of Covid-19 among its teams.
The SEC’s decision to play singles only in 2020 means Tennessee had home games without conferences against Charlotte, Furman and Troy and the dike game at Oklahoma – the first of a two-game home-and-home series with the Sooners , which plans to continue playing the Vols in Knoxville in 2024 – canceled.
After the Sooners dropped out of the schedule, one preseason opponent took the top-10 away from Tennessee, but the Vols looked like two two-15 teams in Auburn (No. 11 in the precise Amway Coaches Poll) and Texas A&M (No. 13) added to a scheme that already included Alabama (No. 3), Georgia (No. 4) and Florida (No. 8).
The Vols are coming off an 8-5 season in 2019 and are expected to continue their rising trend in their third season under Jeremy Pruitt, even in the midst of these unusual circumstances. Tennessee has been back on campus in Knoxville since preparing for the season since early June and has not paused workouts at any point, despite some players testing positive for Covid-19 in July. In addition to workouts, the Vols have held meetings and walkthroughs over the past two weeks as permitted by NCAA rules.
Tennessee opened its presidency on Monday afternoon.
