Tennessee was clearly looking ahead to this game as they struggled with a decent Appalachian State team last week, Virginia Tech won comfortably over Liberty in a game that saw the Hokies score all 12 second half points.
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“It was an unbelievable experience, ” Tennessee senior Cameron Sutton said of the Vols’ 45-24 win over the Hokies before a college football record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“I didn’t like the way we started, but I liked the end of it”, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. But again, 14-0 in this type of environment – crowd going insane – it could be intimidating. “After the race in August, we took everything out of both buildings, cleaned them entirely, and brought in what we needed for construction”. But they won’t soon forget Saturday night.
Tech’s Joey Slye trimmed Tennessee’s cushion to 31-17 via a 26-yard field goal with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter, but the Hokies would never get any closer.
Not only did the offense produce, but the Volunteer defense absolutely shut down Jerod Evans and the Virginia Tech offense for the final three quarters. It’s just that expectation and that confidence throughout the unit that we’ll be fine. “We’re going to go out and make plays … Our time will come”. Each stool is evenly placed in front of the lockers and decked out with a blurred black and white image of Bristol Motor Speedway, with VT and UT logos embossed on top.
“I really just don’t know what to expect”, Tennessee linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. said earlier this week. Jones will have an update on Kirkland’s status today after the player was further examined on Sunday, but it appears very unlikely Kirkland will play against Ohio. However, there were plenty of Tennessee football playmakers in their dominant win over the Hokies.
“We’re doing an unbelievable job of executing”, Hills said.
“I think that it’s awesome that he is coming here to Bristol”, Chesney fan Connie Jamison of Abingdon said before the concert.
It’s not an ideal setup, but it’s about as American as you can get.
Now, after a convincing win against a quality opponent, the disappointing opener is old news and Tennessee appears to be back on track toward becoming a national power and a favorite in the SEC East.
THey’ve been planning this game for three years, but the schools have had only about three weeks to transform the track into a football stadium – there was a NASCAR Sprint Cup race there on August 21.
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Tech’s exchange from center to Evans was not sharp at times – a significant point considering redshirt junior Kyle Chung started at center in place of Eric Gallo, who had started the previous 14 games. It was Phillips’ second fumble in as many weeks. He is also a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. “I’m definitely excited for the experience”. He scored on a 5-yard quarterback draw and a 27-yard scamper on a zone-read option.
