Tennessee HC Josh Heupel downplays major advantage that many think Ohio State will have over the Vols
There has long been a sentiment around whether or not SEC teams can come up north during the colder months and play good football. It doesn’t happen often at all, hardly ever actually. The College Football Playoff will make that more of a common thing going forward. Cold air will be felt during Ohio State’s […]
There has long been a sentiment around whether or not SEC teams can come up north during the colder months and play good football. It doesn’t happen often at all, hardly ever actually. The College Football Playoff will make that more of a common thing going forward.
Cold air will be felt during Ohio State’s first-round College Football Playoff game against the Tennessee Vols. Some believe that the Buckeyes are set to have a big advantage because of that.
The extended forecast shows that a high of 33 and a low of 23 degrees is expected on Dec. 21 when the two teams play. With the wind chill, we could be looking at a game that is set to be played when it feels like it is in the teens outside.
Following the news on Sunday that Ohio State and Tennessee would be playing in Columbus, Vols head coach Josh Heupel shot down the narrative around the cold weather.
“Not sure what the temperature will be up there at night," said Heupel when asked on Sunday about playing in the cold weather on Dec. 21. "[I] Know it won’t be sunny and 85. We played in 30-degree weather a week ago (against Vanderbilt). For us, a lot of our practices are in the morning. We’re outside. It’ll be similar temperatures to what you’re going to get up there. Our guys got to be able to handle anything that comes at them. That’s weather, it’s outside distractions. It’s us getting ready to go be our best 11 on 11 between the white lines. And we’ll be ready to handle that and operate at a high level.”
Many high school and college athletes from the south have never played in the cold, let alone the snow. There is just a small chance for snow in the extended forecast, so that is not expected to be a factor. Anyone who has played football knows that getting hit in the cold is different than getting hit when it is warm outside.
"We’ll be outside as much as we possibly can," said Heupel. "Typically the temperatures, at some point during this preparation will mirror what we think we’ll have on Saturday night up there. We typically get outside unless something’s not right with the grass fields, as far as wet, damp, frost, whatever it might be.”
At the end of the day, the better team is going to win the matchup between the Vols and the Buckeyes. Ohio State is a -7.5 favorite currently less than two weeks out.
Oddsmakers are already saying what they think will happen between Ohio State and Tennessee in the College Football Playoff
The Buckeyes are in a good spot.
