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Tennessee

Danny White responds to allegations of fake noise inside Neyland Stadium

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•10/21/24•

andybackstrom

Tennessee Football | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
Tennessee Football at Neyland Stadium | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Tennessee recorded its 17th straight sellout in Neyland Stadium this past weekend when 101,915 fans packed in to watch the Volunteers host rival Alabama in a top-15 showdown.

The Vols didn’t just host. They won: Tennessee beat Alabama, 24-17, marking its second victory over the Crimson Tide in the last three seasons.

Neyland got loud, not only after the game but during it, too, so much so that Alabama play-by-play announcer Chris Stewart claimed the Vols were piping in crowd noise.

“2nd-and-16 is not what you’re looking for,” Stewart said during the Crimson Tide Sports Network broadcast, “especially with the noise level being what it is here.

“You’ve got 100,000-plus and they also pipe in crowd noise as well.” 

A Tennessee spokesperson confirmed Monday to On3’s Volquest that is not the case. All that’s played through the speakers during home football games at Neyland is music between plays and commentary from the public address announcer, Volquest’s Grant Ramey reported.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White refuted Stewart’s allegations on social media Monday. While responding to a clip of Stewart’s fake noise claims, White posted on X, “No, we don’t! Just 100k+ beautiful, booming, Big Orange voices! #GBO”

Tennessee has now won 17 of its last 18 home games.

This one featured a go-ahead touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava with 5:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The run game, though, largely fueled the Volunteers’ offense in the second half. After entering intermission scoreless, Tennessee notched a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, both by running back Dylan Sampson.

Sampson ran for 139 yards, and the Volunteers as a whole finished with 220 yards on the ground. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had a chance to orchestrate a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, and then a game-tying drive even later in the frame: The first ended in a turnover on downs, the next culminated in a Milroe interception.

“We do got to acknowledge that it was a great crowd that we just played in front of,” Milroe said. “One of the greatest crowds in the country. So it’s on us to control our controllables, understand our assignment, understand our snap count and understand what we need to do so that we can move forward when playing games like this.”