Potential 'SEC on CBS' games that could feature Tennessee in 2023
Cue the music—at least a few more times.
As the SEC begins its final season with its biggest games airing on CBS, the network released its 2023 schedule on Tuesday.
For now, the only games that are set are South Carolina at Georgia on Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m. ET, Florida vs. Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET, Missouri at Arkansas on Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. ET and the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. ET.
The game between South Carolina and two-time defending national champion Georgia will be the first conference game broadcast on CBS and the annual Florida-Georgia match up has dominated the 3:30 p.m. ET time slot for decades.
The SEC Game of the Week will again be decided during the season as contracts with other networks come into play. For now, Tennessee doesn't have any games pre-scheduled on CBS, but that will change as the season progresses.
The Vols have appeared on CBS 81 times and have a 45-36 record when appearing on the network.
Tennessee opens SEC play against Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville on Sept. 16 and with South Carolina and Georgia slated for CBS, the game will air on one of the ESPN networks.
Tennessee and Florida played in the 7 p.m. ET primetime spot on ESPN in 2021.
Other games that the Vols could potentially be featured as the game of the week are Sept. 30 against South Carolina at Neyland Stadium, though it would go up against LSU at Ole Miss, Georgia at Auburn and Texas A&M vs. Arkansas in Arlington, Texas.
Tennessee hosts Texas A&M the following week on Oct. 14 and CBS will air a doubleheader that Saturday with noon ET kickoff followed by a 3:30 p.m. ET game. Also among the marquee games are Arkansas at Alabama and Auburn at LSU.
Tennessee plays at Alabama on Oct. 21 and the "Third Saturday in October" has aired at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS all but nine times since 1998. Given last season's 52-49 thriller that included Chase McGrath's game-winning field goal to snap the Vols' 15-game losing streak against the Crimson Tide, the rematch will certainly draw viewers.
The last two games in Tuscaloosa in 2019 and 2021 have both been picked up by ESPN.
After playing a non-conference game against UConn on Nov. 4, Tennessee is at Missouri on Nov. 11 with Ole Miss at Georgia, Florida at LSU and Auburn at Arkansas on the docket.
Tennessee and Georgia in Knoxville is likely the Vols' best chance to end up as the game of the week on Nov. 18. The game that could decide the SEC East doesn't have much competition with the only other remotely appealing games that Saturday including Florida at Missouri and Kentucky at South Carolina.
At this point, it's probably safe to assume Alabama and Auburn will be the last regular season SEC game on CBS on Thanksgiving weekend. Vanderbilt plays at Tennessee and other in-conference rivalry games between Ole Miss and Mississippi State and Missouri and Arkansas will be played on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Beginning in 2024, ESPN will have the exclusive rights to SEC games with the game of the week airing on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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