Vols Crush Hokies in Front of Record-Setting Crowd, 45-24
114,804. That’s the previous record for an American Football game. It was between Michigan and Notre Dame back in 2013. To find anything remotely larger, you have to believe a rumor, which claims back in 1927 there were 120,000 people in attendance to root on Notre Dame and USC at Soldier Field. Needless to say, the Battle at Bristol that drew in 156,990 shattered any record set by either the NCAA or the NFL. The NFL record stands at 112,376, and that was actually set in Mexico City.
The atmosphere was electric, unlike anything many East Tennesseans had ever seen before. Walking into Bristol Motor Speedway for such a big event was breathtaking, especially during Jennifer Nettle’s performance of the National Anthem.
Preparations for the event started back on August 21, with over 30 vendors working around the clock to transform the infield of Bristol Motor Speedway into a college football stadium. It took 1500 workers 19 days to complete the project. 25,000 pounds of hot dogs, 3,500 pounds of chicken wings, 5,000 turkey legs 4,500 pounds of pulled pork, 2000 pounds of nachos, 3 million ounces of water, 2.5 million ounces of soda, and of course 540,000 beers – which were just a few of the items on hand to fuel the party. Crowds were entertained with music, which actually started Friday night with Kenny Chesney and The Band Perry. Sam Hunt put on a show Saturday afternoon. And the Vol walk from the buses to the stadium was a beautiful sea of orange as far as the eye could see. The afternoon and evening was everything a Volunteer fan could wish for: a party, a festival, with 156.990 of your closest friends.
Oh, and there was a football game.
This was not the first football game to be held in the infield of Bristol. The NFL hosted an exhibition game at the speedway back in 1961 featuring the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. That game drew in a crowd of about 10,000. The Battle at Bristol outnumbered that slightly.
The evening started off frustrating for Volunteer fans. In the first quarter, Tennessee was limited to only 48 yards while the Hokies were running for over 100, and two touchdowns. Virginia Tech’s Travon McMillian had a 69 yard touchdown late in the first quarter and it seemed as if the Volunteers were going to be battling the same woes they had against Appalachian State the week before.
The Volunteers finally recovered from their extra long Vol Walk early in the second quarter. They opened the quarter with what seemed to be a new fire, and decided to dominate the Hokies for the rest of the half. It all started with a five yard Juan Jennings reception from Josh Dobbs. The extra point from Aaron Medley was good. The Volunteers’ beast of a defense finally found their ground, and would not allow the hokies back into the general area of the endzone for the rest of the half. Only one possession of the quarter would fall short of the endzone for the Volunteers, and that actually resulted in a field goal. The same group of Tennessee Volunteers football players who scared their fans in the first quarter went into the locker room ahead of the Virginia Tech Hokies 14-24.
The third quarter remained pretty quiet for both teams for the most part until, with 7:04 left in the quarter, Alvin Kamara grabbed a 23 yard pass from Josh Dobbs, and put the Volunteers on the scoreboard once again. The Volunteers’ defense stopped yet another Hokie drive to the endzone, and limited them to a 26 yard field goal. It took the Volunteers 12 minutes, but Dobbs, with a 27 yard keeper, made another Tennessee Touchdown. The Volunteers were up 38-17 when John Kelley decided it had been too long since the fans sang Rocky Top, and ran the ball 4 yards for yet another touchdown. With 3:28 left in the game, and too little too late for the Hokies, Shai McKenzie grabbed a final touchdown for Virginia Tech, and the final score for the evening was 45-24.
The Volunteers were a much more poised group of players than what we saw last week, but there is still some cleaning up to do.
On a positive note, the stats were much prettier than the skin of the teeth win the Volunteers had during week one. Josh Dobbs had 120 yards rushing and 91 yards passing. Jalen Hurd rushed for 106, and Josh Malone, while limited to one touchdown for the evening, played a major part in the receiving with 46 yards. The Volunteers actually went 5-5 from the redzone, an area which they have struggled with in the past.
Next up for Volunteer fans is Saturday, when the Vols come back to Neyland to host the University of Ohio, at noon.
Nobody seems to know what a Hokie exactly is. When asked, people only responded with “I am.”
