This past weekend, I was finally able to see what SEC football really was. Having always dreamed of checking out a game with over 100,000 fans, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville was at the top of the list to make that happen. What you see on tv gives you a good idea of what it is, but everyone has to experience it at least once in their lifetimes.
We were greeted with rain once we got into Kentucky on our eight-hour trek from Chicago to Knoxville. Once we got to the Smoky Mountains, the rain finally stopped, and by the time we got to the campus bars, everyone was out and ready for a big weekend.
The University of Tennessee had dropped five straight to Georgia, before Saturday afternoon’s game against the Bulldogs.
Running on little sleep, a Waffle House breakfast may have saved the day early. On Saturday morning, the atmosphere on campus was amazing. As we got to the bars early, it seemed like we had never left. It was mainly Volunteer fans, but Georgia had a solid representation on campus early.
Talking football and drinking some Tennessee craft brews, we watched some of the early games and chatted with the locals. The southern hospitality in Knoxville is some of the nicest on the planet.
Walking to the stadium with 102,000-plus other people is a crazy feeling, especially since I talked myself into the Georgia -3 line and had decided to wear red & black. Luckily for us, our seats had quite a few Georgia fans so I was able to fit right in.
Upon entering the stadium, they have police frisk you, and then a guy with a wand to keep the trouble out. The Tennessee fan in front of us tried to slip his blade by in his pocket, but the cop found it and gave him the option to throw it away or take it back to their car. The wife chimed in, “That’s a $60 blade baby, we’re taking it back to the car.” It made me chuckle as the walk from parking to the car areas was up and down hilly streets.
After the wanding and a little chirping from the cop about my Georgia hat and colors, we made it into Neyland Stadium, and the views from each level are awesome.
Climbing the ramps to the upper deck you realize just how steep you are above the field.
*Side note I hit my 10k steps before getting to the upper deck, for an idea of the amount of walking from the bars to the stadium.
After finding our seats, we climbed all the way to the top to see what the highest view of Neyland Stadium looked like. It truly is breathtaking being on top of a 100,000+ people stadium.
The stadium filled up quick as we got there about 45 minutes to kickoff.
When Tennessee’s marching band came onto the field, it was absolutely electric when they played ‘Down the Field’ and made the famous T for ‘Rocky Top’. With a sell-out crowd of 102,455 people, it was a charged atmosphere from the get-go.
As for the game itself, it was heart-wrenching for a neutral.
On the very first play from scrimmage, Georgia running back Nick Chubb‘s knee bent in the wrong direction as he was tackled out of bounds. Chubb was one of the reasons I was so excited to go to Knoxville, as he was one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy. Chubb ended up diagnosed with a severe knee injury with multiple torn ligaments, but fortunately not the ACL.
With Tennessee first breaking into the red zone and knocking on the door, the Volunteers made a crucial mistake when running back Jalen Hurd fumbled on the four-yard line. Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd scooped it up and ran 96 yards to paydirt for the scoop and score.
It was all Georgia, with the score up to 24-3 with just over two minutes to go in the half. Neyland Stadium was silent – an eerie feeling with that many people in the building.
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs led the Vols down the field in a quick 8-play 56-yard drive capped off with a 39-yard pass to Josh Smith on a fourth-and-8 play. The touchdown brought Neyland back to life and the Vols stole momentum at the snap of a finger.
On the ensuing kickoff, back-up running back Sony Michael fumbled the ball on the Georgia 25-yard line, and you would have thought the Vols tied the game up with how loud it got.
It took five plays for Dobbs to find Alvin Kamara for a two-yard score, and the Vols rallied back to cut the deficit to 24-17 at the half.
Half time wasn’t anything special. I know Dolly Parton means a lot to the people in the south, but as a visitor the halftime show dragged quite a bit. One thing that did not appear to drag during halftime was Volunteers coach Butch Jones locker room pep-talk, as he rallied his team at the half and harnessed the crowds energy to a strong second half start.
The Volunteers behind the huge game of Dobbs, exploded during the second half. Dobbs took their second possession of the half, and capped it with a 1-yard qb sneak. Later in the third quarter, he found Kamara again for his second touchdown and just like that the Volunteers, once down 21, took the lead 31-24.
The fourth quarter was truly something special. Each ticking second, the fans were on their feet as Georgia tied the game early in the fourth, on a Greyson Lambert 48-yard pass to Reggie Davis.
The game turned into a field position battle before Dobbs took over on the Volunteers’ winning drive. Dobbs’ use of the read-option led the Volunteers downfield and the drive was capped with a 5-yard TD run. When Dobbs broke the plane, Neyland erupted as the Vols were just five minutes away from beating the Bulldogs for the first time in five years.
The Vols got two stops, including a major one on the final drive of the game. Georgia got the stop they needed to get the ball back, but Vols punter Trevor Daniel, had the 56-yard punt of his life that coffin cornered out at the one-yard line.
Lambert led the Bulldogs downfield and got all the way down to the Tennessee 22-yard line. The Vols student section was going crazy and on third down, the crowd noise became one of the loudest I’ve ever heard a stadium get. Lambert had two tries from within the Vols 22 -yard line but failed, throwing an incomplete pass on second down as time expired. The crowed erupted and ‘Rocky Top’ had Knoxville the loudest it was all game. Tennessee security blocked off the field, but one fan tested them before being speared by an officer.
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‘Rocky Top’ played a few more times as it took a while for the fans to funnel out of the stadium. The atmosphere outside of the stadium and around campus was amazing.
By the time we got back to the bars on Cumberland, you would have thought you were in a major city with lines out the door, and patios packed. Even wearing Georgia red, the Vols fans only ribbed me a little bit. It was an amazing night, and the bars were packed until closing time as we finally headed back to our hotel around 3 a.m.
Running on a few hours of sleep we somehow woke up early, and drove through some early morning Smokey Mountain fog and made it to Nashville to tailgate for the Bills-Titans NFL game.
The students, residents, and fans of the University of Tennessee and Knoxville are some of the nicest people out there. I highly suggest if you ever get the chance to attend a meaningful game in Knoxville, take the trip and spend the weekend there. The University of Tennessee and Neyland Stadium should have just made it onto your bucket list, if it wasn’t there already.