COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Vol invasion of Ohio Stadium was real. It just did not contribute to the outcome of Saturday night’s first-round College Football Playoff game in the way that Tennessee hoped.
Some 20,000 Volunteers ventured north to take in the opening weekend of the first 12-team College Football Playoff in person. They bought out stores of heavy orange jackets from Knoxville to the Arkansas border and posed for photos at the Ohio Welcome Visitor Centers.
They scoffed at the suggestion that freezing temperatures and snow flurries would scare away fans of an SEC program. Or that Vol Nation couldn’t make its presence known at a 102,000-seat palace of the Big Ten.
“Don’t tell us we can’t do that,” said 62-year-old Paul Lindsay of Jackson, Tenn.
Tennessee fans filled bars in Columbus on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. They overtook the audience on Saturday morning during ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast. Three miles from the Horseshoe, they sang along to “Dixieland Delight” at the Red Door Tavern, where the only fan dressed in Ohio State colors among 200 in the building walked out four hours before kickoff.
“We’ve been playing ‘Rocky Top’ in every Waffle House within a 50-mile radius,” said Coty Dishongh, 33, of Spring Hill, Tenn.
Tennessee fans outnumbered those of the home team during warmups. They reveled in the moment, chanting the chorus of the famous Tennessee anthem as Ohio State officials and the fans decked out in scarlet grew uncomfortable.
Never in modern history had an opponent shown up in force like this at Ohio State. Rival Michigan has brought no more than 7,000 to see its best teams.
Alas, it did not matter. Final score: Ohio State 42, Tennessee 17.
The Buckeyes jumped out to a three-touchdown lead in the first quarter. Before they asserted control, the atmosphere was electric in the sections of the stadium that featured a mix of home and away fans. Tennessee fans filled most of the lower level of the north end zone seats. Orange apparel popped, too, throughout the seating on the stadium’s east side.
Tennessee fans are a passionate bunch. They jumped on the 3,500 tickets provided to the visiting team as a requirement of CFP protocols. Vol Nation also gained access to the code provided by Ohio State to its donors and season ticket holders for a presale through Ticketmaster. And they scooped up tickets in large numbers available through third-party resellers.
“Really, Ohio State kind of gave us a gift by allowing us to get as many tickets as we wanted,” said Dishongh, speaking in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station outside of Columbus on Saturday morning. “They’re just handing them out to us.”
His wife, Tiffany, nodded in agreement. He’s the “guru” on Tennessee as a fourth-generation season ticket holder, but she’s bought in.
“I married into this,” Tiffany Dishongh said. “It’s a lifestyle for sure. We’ve been dedicated. I started as a fan when they sucked. So it’s nice to actually get some payoff.”
Brian and Lori Sitton of Jackson, Tenn., bought tickets through StubHub in the upper section of Ohio Stadium. When prices went down, they upgraded to the lower section and gave the original tickets to their college-aged son. They made the eight-hour drive on Friday.
“This was our Christmas present,” Lori said.
“We just want to be a part of it,” Brian said.
And that’s the thing for Tennessee. Despite the defeat on Saturday, the Vols got the chance to play in a CFP game for the first time. “We’ve been starving for a team like this for 15, 20 years,” said Kevin Painter of Maryville, Tenn.
The opportunity to be among the first four fan bases to walk into a stadium as the visitors for a Playoff game? It was an easy decision.
“That’s why I’m here, because of the historical significance,” said Harold Conner of Knoxville, a 1968 UT graduate.
They came in confident. Conner’s wife, Joyce, stayed home for this trip, but she had already bought tickets for the Rose Bowl. Instead, it will be Ohio State facing Oregon in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.
“I don’t even know if I have words for the opportunity and the nature of what is going on here,” Lindsay said. “We’ve seen really good times. And to get to this when it’s the first of its kind, what an opportunity to be here to get to do this.
“It seems like the opposing side is not (as excited). I hate that part of it.”
“It doesn’t mean more to Tennessee fans than it does to Ohio State fans,” said Josh Lindsay of Nashville, Paul’s 34-year-old son. “They love it just as much as we do. But I feel like we are one of the most expressive fan bases that you’ll see.
“Look outside in any direction. You’ll see 100 Tennessee fans.”
Yes, Ohio State entered the postseason in a bit of a perceived daze after its home loss against Michigan to end the regular season. The disappointment undoubtedly contributed to the ease with which Tennessee fans snapped up tickets.
To their credit, the Buckeyes provided a swift answer to questions about their focus and readiness, following their hot start with a knockout punch in the second half after Tennessee cut the lead to 11 at halftime.
In the fourth quarter, the sections of the Horseshoe once painted in orange had largely emptied. But the Volunteers left proud of their appearance. They’ll aim to return to this postseason extravaganza next year — if not as the SEC champion, then as the host of a first-round game.
For all the enjoyment that the weekend in Ohio provided, the Volunteers would, of course, prefer to welcome a top team to Knoxville in December.
“If this game would have been in (Neyland Stadium), you might have had 5,000 fans from the opposing team,” said Brian Broyles, senior vice chancellor for advancement at Tennessee. “Maybe. Maybe. Because we would have made sure it was orange and white in the entire stadium.”
(Photos: Mitch Sherman for The Athletic)
