Tennessee Sucks so bad, ESPN almost didn't want the TSIO game

You know an SEC football game is gonna be bad television when ESPN has to decide whether it wants to broadcast it or let the SEC Network deal with awful ratings.

Alabama will host the Tennessee Vols on Oct 19 at 7:00pm CDT. It's prime time, yes. But ESPN rarely puts SEC matchups in that slot, usually choosing to take mid-major and/or direction school games instead. It means that the game will certainly go well past midnight in the Eastern time zone.

This is happening because Tennessee sucks.  The Vols haven't been competitive in the SEC or national title races since 2001 and haven't beaten Alabama on the field since 2006. They have never beaten Alabama under Nick Saban.

It didn't used to be that way. Tennessee used to be Bama's most potent rival and the traditional Third Saturday in October used to be the marquis game of the SEC regular schedule.

A win over a tough UT team used to mean something. Hell, a win over Alabama used to mean something to Tennessee. A win next Saturday night would probably mean a raise and a contract extension for current coach Jeremy Pruitt. That has about a 0.2% chance of happening because Alabama is gonna dog-slaughter'em. Again.

So, Bama fans. Get a nap on that Saturday afternoon and get ready to stay up late if you want to watch the 13th straight dog-whipping of Smoky & The Vawls.