Watch: Tennessee fans sing Rocky Top, fill Ohio Stadium before playoff game at Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee fans weren’t lying about their invasion of Ohio Stadium for Saturday night’s first round College Football Playoff game. Tennessee fans packed the 102,780-seat stadium, loudly signing Rocky Top during pregame.
No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) and No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) are scheduled for an 8 p.m. Eastern Time start on ABC and ESPN, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
A Ticketmaster presale code leaked online last week, allowing Tennessee fans to get a head start on the ticket-buying process. The Vols were given 3,500 tickets by Ohio State, as mandated by College Football Playoff rules.
Volquest was told Friday that 20,000 tickets had been transferred to Tennessee season-ticket holders for the game and that the estimate of 30,000 wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
The scene in Columbus is staggering. Never thought I’d see a road team take over Ohio Stadium. pic.twitter.com/Vysgnt3bZN
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) December 22, 2024
Rocky Top thunders throughout Ohio Stadium. It’s remarkable. More than 30,000 Tennessee fans expected. pic.twitter.com/zEeYA1JRUy
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 22, 2024
Kirk Herbstreit, the former Ohio State quarterback and longtime ESPN college football analyst, put it into perspective both before and during ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast from just outside Ohio Stadium Saturday morning.
“Real quick, honestly,” Herbstreit said during the show. “(This is) the 29th year doing College GameDay and this is by far the most fans from a visiting team that I’ve ever seen at a College GameDays. By far. The most visiting fans at a College GameDay.”
ROCKY TOP TRAVELS 🍊 pic.twitter.com/smemewHMMw
— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) December 22, 2024
It was also reported earlier this week by Awful Announcing’s Ben Koo that 42% of resold tickets on SeatGeek had gone to Tennessee residents, though the total numbers of tickets sold on the site was not reported.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Kirk Herbstreit
Shot fired at First Take, Stephen A. Smith
- 2New
Ohio State vs. Oregon odds
Early Rose Bowl line released
- 3
Updated CFP Bracket
Quarterfinal matchups set
- 4Trending
Paul Finebaum
ESPN host rips CFP amid blowout
- 5
Klatt blasts Kiffin
Ole Miss HC called out for tweets
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“I see a lot of Vols fans here,” Herbstreit said earlier Saturday morning during an appearance on Sportscenter. “Look at this. There has been a lot of buildup, a lot of talk, about Tennessee, the Vol Nation invade Columbus. It’s early … but there’s a lot of orange. I see a lot of orange on a Saturday morning.”
— Will Boling (@will_boling) December 22, 2024
“Usually as a visiting team you get 3,500 tickets,” Herbstreit added. “There’s speculation that there may be 20,000 or 30,000 Tennessee fans. So when you ask me what’s the vibe, it’s very different from your traditional home-field advantage of an Ohio State game. The Vols, as we know, travel, and they’re here. They’re here and ready to roll.”
Running back Dylan Sampson said earlier this week that he wasn’t surprised to hear the talk of Tennessee fans traveling in bunches to Columbus. After all, Sampson, a native of Baton Rouge, La., was at Tiger Stadium in 2022 when Tennessee fans took over during a 40-13 win over LSU.
“It felt like a home game,” Sampson said. “That’s what I expect from Tennessee fans (at Ohio State). I can’t wait to get out there and see a whole bunch of orange.”
