Based solely on how often his cell phone began to buzz just after lunch early last Sunday afternoon, Bill Duff automatically knew who the University of Tennessee had drawn in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“I didn’t watch the selection show, but I didn’t have to. I knew immediately,” Duff said during a phone interview Friday. “Once my phone started going absolutely nuts, I knew we had gotten paired against Ohio State and a bunch of my buddies were already asking if I was going.
“They knew that’s one I wasn’t going to miss.”
Although the former defensive lineman went on to co-captain UT’s 1997 Southeastern Conference championship team and play professional football for seven years, few Vols athletes are as identified by a singular play as Duff is for stopping Heisman Trophy-winning running back Eddie George in his tracks near the goal line during the 1996 Citrus Bowl.
Prior to next Saturday’s prime time showdown in Columbus, that waterlogged day in Orlando nearly 30 years ago is the only previous meeting between historical power programs Ohio State and Tennessee.