Tennessee football vs. Virginia will be an appetizer in Week 1 college football feast

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's newsletter on SEC sports. Today, SEC columnist Blake Toppmeyer takes over:

Get your tailgating in early, Vols fans.

Tennessee’s season will open at noon ET Sept. 2 against Virginia on ABC. The game will be played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, meaning an 11 o’clock kickoff local time.

The downside: Less time for mimosas.

The upside: Tennessee is a heavy favorite, and if the Vols win, fans have ample time to celebrate at the honky-tonks.

The reality is, the Vols lessened their opportunity for a Week 1 prime-time game when they canceled their previously scheduled opener at BYU. Tennessee ditched the road game, cut the buyout check, and struck a deal with one of the ACC’s weaker teams.

While the Vols will enjoy good visibility among the noon-hour games, the week’s more interesting assignments are tapped for prime time.

Some highlights of the Week 1 football feast:

Thursday, Aug. 31: Florida at Utah, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Saturday, Sept. 2: Boise State at Washington, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Saturday, Sept. 2: South Carolina vs. North Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Sunday, Sept. 3: LSU vs. Florida State, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Monday, Sept. 4: Duke at Clemson, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Outside of the Disney-owned networks, two Saturday games involving Big Ten teams will have my attention:

Ohio State at Indiana, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

West Virginia at Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Week 1 will provide a bit of clarity on whether Tennessee has the makeup to return to a New Year’s Six bowl and whether UNC’s Drake Maye or South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler is the stronger Heisman Trophy hopeful.

I rank LSU and FSU among my preseason list of College Football Playoff contenders. One will be 0-1 after Week 1 and left with no margin for error, while the other will emerge with a sterling line on the resume.

Penn State is a trendy CFP dark horse. If the hype is warranted, the Nittany Lions should whack WVU.

As for Ohio State-Indiana, I view the Buckeyes as the biggest threat to Georgia’s hopes of a three-peat, and 2024 NFL mock drafts highlight Ryan Day’s abundance of talent.

Game times are set. Television networks are set. Countdown to kickoff.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered.