With Tennessee in 'dark mode' vs. Kentucky, will an orange and black checkerboard appear?

It's Halloween weekend, Tennessee is the No. 3 team in the country and the Vols will wear black "dark mode" uniforms against longtime rival No. 19 Kentucky.

It's a lot of drama for a Saturday night game in Neyand Stadium, and fans are calling for even more.

Yep, they want an orange and black checkerboard.

Volunteers will face off against long time rival No. 19 Kentucky on Oct. 29.

Although it's been a one-sided rivalry, the Vols will be playing against their fifth ranked team this season. But to fit alongside the spooky thematics of October, the football team is wearing one of their more unique uniform choices by going "dark mode," wearing black and orange including the helmets for the first time.

The orange and black checkerboard isn't official, but fans might go ahead and do it anyway to enhance the hype for a team making an unexpected run for the championship.

Fans online weigh in on black and orange checkerboard

Two scenarios have been talked about: One would be to do a checkerboard in the stands, which would use the regular orange and white pattern but replace white with black. To participate, simply look up the original Neyland checkerboard pattern, match your seats to the color, and wear that.

However, not everyone is keen on the idea, with many people voicing their disdain for the idea of a black and orange Neyland.

The second option floated online is just a "Black Out," in the vein of the "Orange Out" at the stunning Oct. 15 win over Alabama. To participate, just wear all black to the game.

A discussion post on the r/ockytop subreddit had users angling for that option.

There was one thing that users agreed on: The Neyland Stadium checkerboard and "Orange Out" should be a once-a-season events. Doing something for every game, they say, makes these fan events feel less special.

What if I still want to do it?

It might be hard to convince about 102,000 people to participate, but some are trying anyway.

If you just want to match the Volunteers on the field regardless of your seat section, just combine your Vols gear with some black clothing. Some possible combinations include:

• Black pants, orange shirt

• Orange pants, black shirt

• All black clothes, orange hat

• Orange and white clothes, black hat

• Checkered overalls, black shirt, black hat

• Checkered overalls, no shirt, black hat

• Black and white checkered overalls, orange hat

• Full black and orange football uniform (risks possibility of being put into play)

The Vols black jerseys were introduced in 2009 for a Halloween game against South Carolina (which they handedly won). They made an appearance again in 2021 against South Carolina.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Will fans turn Neyland Stadium into orange and black checkerboard?