Last year, before kickoff, it was, “It’s nice to play a cupcake for a change!” So lesson one: whatever we say, say it very carefully.
Georgia State was supposed to be the first easy Week 1 opponent for the Vols since Butch Jones’ debut against Austin Peay in 2013. If there’s any good news in that, it’s that we’re used to a challenge right away, expected or otherwise. That means a job well done in week one is incredibly rewarding…and incredibly difficult to come by.
That incredibly rewarding feeling? We’ve only seen it once on opening weekend in these last six years. On a Sunday night in Neyland, Tennessee scored on its second drive against Utah State, recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and scored again on the very next play. The Vols routed Chukie Keeton and the Aggies 38-7 behind a solid 27-of-38 for 273 and three touchdowns from Justin Worley. It’s not that you thought the Vols were going to win it all after that one, and it’s not that Tennessee didn’t disappoint mightily against Florida a month later. But a good first impression, especially in unusual times, is valuable beyond fan expectations. And since 2014, week one has gone differently:
- 2015: This Kamara kid might be the real deal, but will we ever stop a go route again? Did we really give up 557 yards to Bowling Green?
- 2016: Never schedule Appalachian State. Ever. Never ever.
- 2017: Well, we gave up 655 yards to Georgia Tech, but we won woooooooooooooooooooooo (what a spectacularly insane football game that ultimately amounted to nothing).
- 2018: Hmm, so not having Butch Jones out there didn’t automatically make us good enough to beat West Virginia. Okay.
- 2019: (Fulmerized)
How often does the first impression stick? The 2015 Vols did indeed stop a go route, and ended up coming closer to the promised land than any other team post-Fulmer. The warning signs from 2016, 2017, and 2018 turned out to be true. And the story of last season was about Georgia State, then about how they were able to make it not about Georgia State, and give this season a chance to make us remember it again as a starting point for something much bigger than 8-5.
If future schedules hold, the Vols will open 2021 with Bowling Green and 2022 with Ball State before traveling to Provo to open 2023. So maybe this is a temporary issue. But for the next 11 weeks, the only break is the bye week. This will be an entirely new experience for all of us, not only watching Tennessee but watching Georgia and Florida have real opportunities to lose almost every Saturday. Much like conference play in basketball, every win is a good win. So if we get a grumpy win, we’ll take it and move on to Missouri. We’ll take one every Saturday in the chase for the SEC East.
But man…wouldn’t it be fun to get off to a good start?
Go Vols.