‘Listen for silence’ – Steve Sarkisian sends message before Texas plays Tennessee, and Vols fans need to take it as a challenge
The Tennessee Volunteers will host the Texas Longhorns in a huge SEC showdown in Knoxville on Saturday.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian showed a lot of respect of Neyland Stadium earlier this week ahead of his team’s matchup against the Tennessee Vols this weekend.
But while Sarkisian has a lot of respect for the home of the Vols, he’s looking forward to silencing the crowd on Saturday afternoon.
“I talk to the guys a lot (about playing on the road),” said Sarkisian. “I want them to hear the roar of the crowd — because there’s some that need to feel it. But we always say, listen for the silence. Because if we can get to that point when that roar is now silenced down, that means we’re doing what we need to do.
“How do you do that? You’ve got to have great poise and composure. You’ve got to play really well during the special situations and have an understanding of what you need to do. You’ve got to be able to handle adversity — because adversity strikes. And how do you handle adversity? You’ve got to do it together. You’ve got to stay connected. And in the end, it’s being at your best when your best is needed in those critical moments. But that’s leaning into one another. I enjoy playing on the road. It’s not as fun as playing at home, but I do enjoy playing on the road. It creates different challenges.”
Tennessee is going to need the crowd for a full 60 minutes on Saturday. The Longhorns are going to make plays, and there may be a point in the game where it feels like Texas has the momentum. Those are the moments when college football crowds can get quiet. But Vols fans will need to keep the intensity even when Tennessee hits some adversity.
If the Vols are going to pull off the upset on Saturday, it’ll be in large part because Tennessee fans brought the noise from kickoff to the final whistle — even if things aren’t going the Volunteers’ way at some point in the game.
