Tennessee football fans have spent large chunks of the last two week talking about the Vols’ invasion of “The Shoe” for their College Football Playoff opening matchup at Ohio State. They’re off to a strong start.
Tennessee fans were well represented at ESPN’s College Gameday on Saturday morning in Columbus. In fact, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said it was the best showing he’s ever seen from an away fanbase.
“I’ll just say this real quick, honestly. Twenty ninth year of doing College GameDay and this is by far the most fans from the visiting team I’ve ever seen at a College GameDay,” Herbstreit said. “In 29 years! By far the most visiting fans.”
Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, has been one of the lead analyst on College Gameday since 1996. Tennessee fans’ presence was well felt watching the broadcast. They boo’d Stanford Steve for taking the Buckeyes, sang Rocky Top and chanted “it’s great to be a Tennessee Vol.”
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It’s the third time that College Gameday has broadcasted from a Tennessee game this season but none of them were in Knoxville. Gameday also went to Norman for the Vols’ win over Oklahoma and Athens for the Vols’ loss at Georgia.
Despite the strong showing from Tennessee fans in Columbus, the College Gameday crew isn’t optimistic about the Vols’ chances on Saturday. Herbstreit didn’t make a pick because he’s calling the game but the five other analyst all picked Ohio State to win the game.
The Buckeyes are seven-point favorites against Tennessee with kickoff just hours away according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 46.5.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Ohio State is at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Columbus. Chris Fowler, Herbstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for both ABC and ESPN. The winner advances to ranked top-seeded Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day.
