When it came out last month that Lane Kiffin was lobbying to play Tennessee to open the 2011 season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, officials at Tennessee uttered a collective "Yeah, right."

The Vols were looking to soften their schedule for the 2011 season, not strengthen it.

While nothing is finalized, it looks like they've done that. Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said talks have taken place between North Carolina and Tennessee that would cancel the series between those two schools that had been scheduled for 2011 and 2012. Hamilton had requested that the series be moved back later in the decade, and North Carolina wasn't interested in moving.

Therefore, the two sides are trying to come to an agreement on a buyout, which the Vols would owe.

Tennessee's current schedule in 2011 has a stretch that includes Cincinnati, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, LSU and Alabama, and Hamilton was looking to break up that gauntlet of teams.

With the Tar Heels coming off the schedule, the Vols will look for an eighth home game in 2011 against a non-BCS team, Hamilton said.

In other words, Tennessee is trying to improve its chances of making it to a bowl game.