Saturday's Tennessee-Virginia game at Nissan Stadium is officially sold out
The Nashville Sports Council on Tuesday announced that No. 12 Tennessee’s season-opening game against Virginia Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville is sold out. The game is scheduled for a Noon Eastern Time start and will be televised by ABC.
“We are thrilled to announce this Saturday’s game is officially sold out,” Scott Ramsey, President and CEO of the Nashville Sports Council, said in a press release. “We are excited to welcome the tens of thousands of fans to Nissan Stadium for what promises to be an exciting and memorable matchup between these two outstanding programs.”
Saturday’s game is Tennessee’s third regular-season home game played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The Vols beat Bowling Green 59-30 in 2015 and Wyoming 47-7 in 2002. Virginia last played at the stadium against Minnesota in the 2005 Music City Bowl.
Tennessee drew 69,489 fans in the 2021 Music City Bowl when the Vols faced Purdue in Nashville, a new record for the bowl game. Nissan Stadium’s capacity is listed as 67,700.
Countdown to Kickoff: Tennessee vs. Virginia, Saturday, Noon ET, ABC
“It’s awesome that we get an opportunity to inside of the mid-state, a huge fan following there,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “But you look at the opportunity we have, we got a great opponent, where SEC Nation is gonna be there, national TV audience as we kick off the ’23 season.
“So looking forward to being there, having an opportunity to recruit on Friday night as well. And continue to showcase ourselves in front of the entire country, but have our followers in the mid-state, they have an opportunity to host us there.”
Tennessee and Virginia are meeting in football for the first time since the 1991 Sugar Bowl, when the Vols won 23-22. The Cavaliers won 16-13 in Knoxville in November 1980. Tennessee won home games against Virginia in December 1940 and October 1927.
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‘It’s gonna be loud. There’s gonna be a lot of excitement.’
Second-year Virginia coach Tony Elliott, the former Clemson offensive coordinator, said Tuesday he’s talked to his team about handling emotions in what should be a hostile environment in Nashville.
“It’s gonna be loud,” Elliott said. “There’s gonna be a lot of excitement. I think more so the crowd, as much as just the anticipation of wanting to play this, this football team hasn’t played in a long time, and it’s been a very, very long offseason. So helping these guys understand how to channel that emotion, not to play the game before you actually show up to the game. Don’t play the game in the locker room.
“You’re gonna have to make sure that you manage and, kind of the analogy I’ve been using is gas in your tank, right? So you gotta manage it, right? You can’t use it all in the first quarter, in the first five minutes, right? You gotta be able to use it each quarter, each play, and not be too emotionally involved in the game. Because the emotions, what I’ve learned in games like this, the emotions are high early, and then it comes down to who can lock in, who can focus.
“… Don’t play (the game) on the bus ride to the stadium. So just kind of giving those guys some tips on how to manage themselves so that they’re prepared to be able to play for four quarters.”
