As someone who lives in the area, I would advise everyone against choosing a game prior to October. The heat for morning and afternoon games is unbearable.
Agreed - and does anyone REALLY think we should have one against....Mercer?
In my opinion - which means more than everyone else's because I'm special (ed that is, heh heh) - there are REALLY only two viable options this year, the Vols and LSU. It's just not the same with the three obvious cupcakes, so that leaves the two I mentioned plus Ole Miss or Arky.
Arky is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so that's probably an obvious "nah" as well since a lot of folks will travel the next week. October 2 is hit/miss weather-wise......the 2002 game against UGA that was so damned hot was played on October 5.
The LSU game presents a different problem weather-wise. In 2015, it rained all day long and was absolute misery; by contrast, the 2012 ATM game (on November 10) was almost perfect weather.
I'll say the Vols first, LSU second, and my intent is to be there regardless, but I'm bringing a friend from Minnesota so she can experience it all first-hand, so I'll need to know reasonably soon.