Name: Orange & White Spring Game
Time: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network
Location: Neyland Stadium (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Format: Offense vs. defense. One point for plays plus/minus four yards, three points for tackles for loss, sacks are plays over 16 yards, seven points for a turnover, one point for 1-on-1 situations.

Sure, it’s a just the spring game, teammates playing against teammates. But it’s a lot more than that in Knoxville on Saturday. It’s the start of what is supposed to be a magical season.

The hype has already started, of course. It started a few minutes after Tennessee walloped Northwestern 45-6 in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, finishing the season 9-4 and on a six-game winning streak. The target date for an SEC East title – and possibly so much more – is very clearly 2016.

Because they have a three-year starter at quarterback (Joshua Dobbs), talent galore at most other positions and experience everywhere with 17 starters returning, the Vols are the trendy pick to win it all this year in the SEC East.

But we’ve also heard that before.

So before we start crowning anybody, let’s look at what the Vols need to accomplish during Saturday’s game at Neyland Stadium:

1. Fire up the hype machine to epic levels

Players are fired up about this season and so are the coaches. The fans, well, they are already off the charts with excitement. And that’s a good thing.

“We talked about those moments and times like this year. We’ve talked about it. It’s here now. It’s time we step up and show everybody what we can do,” Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd said earlier this week.

It is just the spring, of course. But there are going to be plenty of people in Neyland and showing off a little bit will be nice. Some explosive moments are only going to get the banter to continue to grow.

2. Joshua Dobbs throws some nice balls

Eve Nick Saban weighed in this week that Tennessee and Ole Miss should be the favorites in the SEC, because they’ve got veteran quarterbacks returning and that gives a team a huge edge.

Tennessee, the popular SEC favorite, is actually the only team in the entire division with a stable starting quarterback in Joshua Dobbs, but even he is not perfect. Great kid, great student, but thosee massive, memorable games are still yet to come. Looking sharp Saturday would be nice.

Let’s not forget that Dobbs was just 13-for-31 passing in the loss to Oklahoma last September and passed for only 83 yards in the loss to Florida a few weeks later. Those kind of performances will not be acceptable in 2016. That’s why putting in good work all spring is important. That’s what Dobbs has done.

“Finishing out the spring strong is important,” Dobbs said. “You get to the last week and it’s a grind. But it’s been a very productive spring for me and the entire offense.”

Dobbs and the offense struggled a bit in last week’s scrimmage, so an improved performance Saturday would be nice to see.

“There was obviously a lot of different things that went into Saturday,” Dobbs said after Tuesday’s practice. “We were down a couple receivers, some different guys. The defense was doing different stuff, and we were doing different stuff. It was all scripted situations, and you’re just trying to make the most out of them. We made some plays.

“We got better, and we improved, and that’s all you can do every time you get on the field.”

3. Bob Shoop puts stamp on the UT defense

When Bob Shoop was hired as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator this winter, he gushed about having the opportunity to take over in Knoxville and was excited for what could be done.

His excitement level is even higher now that he’s seen his team on the field for a few weeks, even with a dozen guys sitting out the spring with injuries. There’s a ton of talent at every level, with a lineup filled with future pros, and the will be ready to shine come September.

Shoop is already making an impression. Even Dobbs gave the defense credit for the offense’s struggles last Saturday, mentioning that Shoop was doing some different things to keep them off balance.

4. Jalen Hurd gets in some work

Tennessee’s star running back, Jalen Hurd, has gained 2,187 yards in his first two years. He’s 892 yards behind all-time leader Travis Henry, a figure that’s certainly within range when the fall rolls around.

He’s been working hard in the offseason on improving his running at the second level, hoping to turn good runs into breakout big plays. He’s been quiet in scrimmages, but that’s been by design as the younger guys get plenty of work. Popping a few nice runs Saturday would be nice.

“Yeah, I’ve definitely thought about that,” Hurd said after Tuesday’s practice in regards to chasing Henry’s record. “That’d be amazing. That’s definitely something that’s a goal that I definitely wanted to do.”

5. Get Alvin Kamara plenty of touches too

The Vols arguably have the best 1-2 punch in the backfield of any SEC team, if not the country. Hurd is great, as is Alvin Kamara.

Kamara can do lots of things. He rushed for 698 yards last year and also caught 34 passes for 291 yards. He scored 10 touchdowns. Kamara is a dynamic player who needs to see plenty of action as well.

“Alvin’s a great guy,” Hurd said. “We feed off each other and work hard. We bring out the best in each other.”