Vols will be on a time clock : govolsxtra.com

In the most literal terms, there's a simple answer to the difference between the timing of Tennessee's season-opener this year and in years past.

"Two days," UT coach Phillip Fulmer joked following Monday's practice, the official beginning of game-week preparations for the Vols' trip to UCLA on Sept. 1.

By the time Tennessee kicks off its season at 8 p.m., almost every other team in the country will have played its first game. But the Vols open the year in primetime and in front of a national television audience on ESPN.

That's worth the wait for tailback Arian Foster.

"That's what you grow up thinking about as a little kid," Foster said. "Everybody watches Monday Night Football. This isn't the professional game yet, but it's the closest thing to it. You're the only football game on TV."

That's a rarity for most teams these days.

South Carolina will open its season against North Carolina State on ESPN at 8 p.m. Thursday, however Oregon and Stanford kick off an hour later on ESPN2. Kentucky has a monopoly on television Sunday, but its opener against Louisville is at 3:30.

Monday's season-opener will be UT's first non-Saturday game since 2005, when its game in Baton Rouge against LSU was moved to Monday night because of Hurricane Rita.

But unlike that week, when UT was prepared to forfeit rather than travel in unsafe conditions, the Vols' schedule this week is set.

It is different, however.

The Vols will use their usual Thursday practice routine on Thursday and Friday. They'll practice early Saturday afternoon before hopping a 1,900-mile flight to Pasadena. And the team will sleep late Sunday morning before holding a walkthrough at the Rose Bowl at 8 p.m. EDT.

"I think you try to keep them on a routine," Fulmer said. "That's the reason we go out a day early so they can get somewhat accustomed to it. It would be different if we were playing at 8 o'clock out there and it's 11 o'clock here. We're playing at 5 o'clock which means it's 8 o'clock here. It will keep their body clocks pretty much the same."

UT has had mixed results playing on the West Coast in recent years.

In 1994, the Vols lost by two points at UCLA. In 1997, they won by three at UCLA. And last year, 12th-ranked Cal drilled the Vols 45-31.

Fulmer won't blame that loss on a time change, though.

"We've made that haul a couple different times and it works out. Last year, not so well, but I don't think it was because of the travel or the time or anything," Fulmer said. "It was because we didn't take care of the ball, didn't play the kicking game and didn't tackle."

Quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who will start the second game of his career on Monday, says the extra two days of practice should help Tennessee get ready to play.

"You get a few more days to rest your legs from camp. You get a few more days to watch film, prepare a little more, find the little things you may have missed from the day before. I think it's a good thing."

And the arrival of game week after 3 1/2 weeks of preseason practice is even better.

"There's a slight difference," Crompton said. "On the outside looking in, you can't notice. But when you're out there with the team, you kind of get the feeling that everybody's ready.

"I would say we're about 98, 99 percent game-ready with the offense and defense. A few more days and we'll be 100 percent ready to go."

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

Vols will be on a time clock

Fulmer wants players to maintain routine