Season openers are usually as comfortable as a worn-in recliner for the Tennessee football team.

Just lean back and enjoy the show.

All the anticipation, all the hype, all the adrenaline finally gets unleashed today.

As far as the No. 3-ranked Vols are concerned, it's about time. They know expectations going into today's opener with UAB (TV: WVLT, 12:30 p.m.) are through the roof.

"No one's walking around here with a big head," senior linebacker Kevin Simon said. "Everyone's coming out hungry, trying to learn and trying to get better.

"More than saying, 'OK, we've arrived,' people are looking at the No. 3 ranking as a challenge. We've got a bull's-eye on our chests."

It's the Blazers of UAB and star quarterback Darrell Hackney taking aim first.

Hackney will try to help his team do something no team has done since 1983 -- beat the Vols in a season opener at Neyland Stadium. Pittsburgh came to Knoxville that year and defeated UT 13-3.

There was a 26-26 tie to UCLA in 1985 and close calls against Colorado State (17-14 in 1989) and Southern Miss (19-16 in 2000), but most of the openers in Knoxville have been dress rehearsals, tune-ups for the rigors of an SEC schedule.

UAB coach Watson Brown says his Blazers are ready for the challenge. He also said Tennessee has the best team he has seen in his stint at Alabama-Birmingham.

"Looking at Tennessee on paper, they're physically the best team we've played in the 11 years I've been here," Brown said. "The only other time we played Tennessee was the year they won the national championship (1998) and I think this team is physically better than that one."

A Tennessee offense loaded at the skill positions goes up against a UAB team with three new linebackers and a secondary ranked among the worst in the NCAA last season.

A Tennessee defense full of talent and depth in the front seven matches up with a UAB offense that averaged 31 points a game in 2004.

Simon, for one, said he probably wouldn't get much sleep going into his first game since suffering an injured knee against Florida in game two last season.

"Friday night, I always have a hard time sleeping," he said. "I'm so excited for that game the next day.

"It's not about being hurt last year. It's not about the first game. It's about competition. I want to show my worth every game."

The wait is over. An off-season full of distractions, including the suspension of four players for today's opener, is finally in the past.

"I'm anxious to go," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "In one way, it seems like no time since the Cotton Bowl; in another way it seems like it has been two years."

Hackney is the key for UAB.

"We all know they have a good quarterback," Simon said. "They're probably going to try to put the game in his hands.

"He's someone you have to account for. There's no doubt in my mind he's the best player on their offense."

Hackney, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound senior who has lost 30 pounds since last season, passed for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2004.

UT defensive coordinator John Chavis wants to make sure Hackney loses a few more pounds running for his life today.

"If you give him enough time to throw the football, there are going to be openings," Chavis said. "There has to be steady pressure."

Brown worries about a Vols offense led by tailback Gerald Riggs Jr.

"I worry about Tennessee taking the ball right at us with our three new linebackers," he said. "I like our linebackers, and I think they're going to play well. But they'll have a lot of heat on them right out of the gate with the style that Tennessee plays."

The Vols will count on Rob Smith making the move to center and Ramon Foster getting his first start at guard. The moves were necessary after preseason injuries to Richie Gandy and David Ligon at center.

Riggs just wants a chance to run, no matter who is opening the holes.

"We set the bar high for ourselves," he said. "That's nothing new for us.

"That's where our maturity shows. We've got guys with a lot of experience who have been in a lot of battles and know what it takes to win ballgames."

The time to prove it is now.

All that remains is leaning back and enjoying the show.