Tennessee fans got a big show of respect from John Mateer and his Oklahoma teammates during Sooners’ win over Alabama Crimson Tide
Vol fans got a hat tip during the OU-Alabama game on Saturday.
The Tennessee Volunteers weren’t able to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners earlier this month, falling 33-27 in Knoxville to effectively end all College Football Playoff hopes.
However, the loss didn’t come from a lack of effort from the Tennessee fanbase. The crowd noise had quite the effect on Oklahoma’s players, including veteran quarterback John Mateer.
During the Oklahoma-Alabama game on Saturday, ESPN play-by-play commentator Sean McDonough and sideline reporter Holly Rowe talked about Mateer’s comments about the game in Knoxville, including how Mateer said it was the loudest environment he’s ever played in. And that, apparently – according to his OU teammates – the crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium wasn’t louder than Neyland.
OU’s John Mateer says Neyland Stadium is the loudest place he’s played, and his teammates confirmed that Bryant-Denny Stadium doesn’t top it
“Sean, you mentioned Sooners quarterback John Mateer told us the game at Tennessee was the loudest atmosphere he’s ever played in,” Rowe said. “After their last drive, he came off the field, went straight up to his offensive line and asked them ‘is down here by the student section worse than Tennessee?’ and they shook their heads and said no.”
“He said at the start of the game last week at Tennessee, he was screaming in the huddle, and he told his teammates, ‘I’m not freaking out. It’s just so loud I have to yell this loud’”, McDonough added.
Neyland Stadium has returned to living up to its reputation of being a daunting place to play under Josh Heupel, as Tennessee has become a very tough team to face in Knoxville for programs not named Georgia. The Vols have a 29-6 home record under Heupel, with perfect home slates during the 2022 and 2024 seasons that included wins over Florida and Alabama. The energy and electricity inside Neyland has cranked up a notch from the pre-Heupel days, such that Crimson Tide play-by-play radio commentator Chris Stewart accused Tennessee of pumping in crowd noise last year before walking those comments back.
Tennessee has one of the greatest home field advantages because of their passionate fans, and there’s little doubt that – despite the occasional loss – it has helped greatly with Tennessee’s home field success over the last five years.
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