Tennessee isn’t settling for a postseason cup of coffee, even though that or a hot chocolate might be needed on a cold, December night in Central Ohio.
The ninth-seeded Vols (10-2, 6-2 SEC) earned a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and will play No. 8 Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) in the first round at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. EST (ABC/ESPN).
Should the Vols win, they will face No. 1 Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The top four CFP seeds – Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State – received a bye into the quarterfinals. The next four seeds – Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State – earned home games.
Tennessee fans and administrators were hoping to host a first-round game at Neyland Stadium, but the Vols were edged by the Buckeyes in the rankings over the last two weeks. Before the final rankings were revealed by the CFP committee Sunday afternoon, UT head coach Josh Heupel was already mentally preparing his players for an extended run.
“If you’re not of the mindset going into this thing, anyone, anywhere, anytime, then you’re just there to have a cup of coffee anyway,” Heupel says.
Neither Tennessee or Ohio State played in their respective conference championship games last weekend. Tennessee defeated rival Vanderbilt on the road in the regular-season finale Nov. 30, while Ohio State suffered an upset loss to rival Michigan at home that dropped them to the No. 8 seed.
Tennessee and Ohio State have met only once before. The Vols beat the Buckeyes 20-14 in the 1996 Citrus Bowl.
“For us, it is the next step for our program,” Heupel says of the CFP bid. “This is something our players have worked toward since last January. Again, you earn the right to be in a game like this. Proud of what we’ve done throughout the course of the regular season.
“The new season starts here. There was an expectation inside of our program to earn the right to play in a game like this in the postseason.”
Nighttime is the right time?
Although Tennessee has played mostly night games this season, Ohio State has many noon games thanks to being featured on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff. Buckeye fans haven’t been happy with the early games, so the home playoff game time should be welcomed.
Tennessee has received a ticket allotment of 3,500 for the 102,780-seat stadium, known as The Horseshoe because of its shape.
“We’re fired up. We’re obviously excited about playing the first-ever playoff game in Ohio Stadium,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day says. “Ohio Stadium has been around a long time, over 100 years. There’s been a lot of great games, but never a playoff game like this. And so, a night game, 8 o’clock (EST), it’s gonna be electric. Our guys are gonna be excited about this.”
There has been talk about how SEC schools might handle the cold weather. But the temperatures in Knoxville have been just as cold as Columbus for the last few weeks.
“This isn’t the Deep South. We get some colder weather,” says Heupel, who plans to have the team practice outside in the mornings during preparation.
Ohio State and Tennessee boast two of the top defenses in the nation. The Buckeyes rank first overall in total defense, giving up 241.1 yards per game, while the Vols rank fourth at 278.2. Led by a record-breaking season from running back Dylan Sampson, Tennessee finished as the only Power 4 team with a top 10 rushing offense (Ninth, 232.0) and rushing defense (Ninth, 99.6).
Put the ball down
At the quarterback spot, UT redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava will be making his second postseason appearance after making his first career start for the Vols last season in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. The Buckeyes are led by graduate senior Will Howard, who transferred to OSU this year from Kansas State.
Heupel doesn’t intend to stray from the norm ahead of the program’s CFP debut.
“It’s all about the preparation and lead-up. Those are the same messages that our guys hear throughout the season,” Heupel says. “It’s been what this group has done. They’ve earned the right to play in a game like this. Now it’s about our preparation and making sure we’re at our best when we get there.”
Having been tested by the SEC over the course of the season, the Vols want to prove they can win a big road game when the stakes are the highest.
“This is a highly competitive group,” Heupel says. “We’ll play where we play. We’ll play who we play and it’s going to be, put the ball down (and play).”