Vanderbilt going blackout for opener vs. Ole Miss

The Vanderbilt Commodores will open their football season with a nationally-televised Thursday night matchup against an SEC opponent and, naturally, the school isn’t going to miss out on a chance to build hype for the contest. Following a popular big-game trend in college football, the Commodores will hold a blackout against the Ole Miss Rebels on Aug. 29.

Vandy head coach James Franklin alluded to the blackout in a tweet posted Friday afternoon, we looked into it, and the school eventually confirmed the event. If all goes according to plan, every Commodore fan in the stadium will be wearing black.

The ‘Dores and Rebs are set to kickoff on the first Thursday of the season at 9:15 p.m. ET. Neither team is ranked in the preseason USA Today Coaches’ Poll, but both are in the “others receiving votes category” coming off better-than-expected seasons. The winner of the game will feel pretty good about becoming one of the surprise teams in the SEC.

Vanderbilt Stadium isn’t known for being a hostile environment. If Franklin has his way, though that will change for at least one game.

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