Tennessee football players may spend Saturday’s first few hours experiencing “Groundhog Day.”
The No. 6 Volunteers are facing a program they rarely beat in a CBS-televised contest and with ESPN’s “College GameDay” show in town. It was the same scenario on Sept. 24, when Tennessee topped No. 20 Florida 38-33 for just the second time in 18 meetings, and now it’s No. 3 Alabama coming to Knoxville riding a 15-game series winning streak.
Vols second-year coach Josh Heupel didn’t have his players shy from the spotlight and the mayhem three weeks ago against the Gators, and he’s eager for them to soak in this latest frenzied atmosphere in and around Neyland Stadium.
“You better enjoy it,” Heupel said Thursday during his final news conference of the week. “There has been a lot of work that has gone on with our staff and with our players to be able to play in games like this that matter from the outside and have this type of attention. You should enjoy the Vol Walk. There is not a better pregame experience in all of college football than that.
“The energy in our stadium when you’re running through the ‘T’ — you better enjoy that moment.”