Ohio State Fans Should Embrace Tennessee’s CFP ‘Invasion’ This

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As the college football world prepares for the start of the playoffs on Friday, the topic of ticket sales has been overwhelming social media for the past two weeks, mainly centered around a potential invasion of Tennessee fans at Ohio State on Saturday night.

While the topic has become a lightning rod for fans of both teams, as fans in Orange declare this a hostile takeover, and Buckeye fans are trying to hold the line in Columbus, I’m all for the declarations, and so is the College Football Playoff.

Let me remind you that the CFP has already made its money off this game, as it collects all revenue from ticket sales. So, when Ohio State sold out of tickets in the first few days of them going on sale, it was the playoff committee that was having the last laugh. Yes, the schools will get a check from the playoff, and profit from concessions and parking, but that’s about it.

But while we sit here enjoying the war of words on social media, with Ohio State fans clamoring towards the weather forecast, and Tennessee fans buying enough tickets to make even the Buckeyes AD release a statement on preventing fans clad in Orange from buying up all the leftovers on the secondary market, I say embrace it all.

Right now, there’s nothing Ohio State fans can do or say on social media that will get under the skin of the Tennessee faithful, it’s just how they are. This has been a long time coming for the Vols, desperate to get back into the conversation as one of the top-tier programs in the sport after years of being the laughingstock of college football.

Meanwhile, Ohio State, has never left the group chat, always having a seat at the perceived blue-bloods table, even if it struggles to beat Michigan. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Buckeyes are taken aback by all of the talk surrounding this game. And even if they are still upset with Ryan Day losing once again to Michigan, you’re still hosting a first-round game that gives the Buckeyes an upper-hand on advancing to the next round.

But at the end of the day, I would tell Ohio State fans to enjoy what’s coming this weekend, embrace the ‘invasion’, because there’s nothing you can do to stop it, even if you try. Either way, this is setting up to be one magnificent spectacle on Saturday night.

Josh Heupel Has Added Fuel To The Tennessee Fire With Turnaround

Having covered one of the craziest environments I’ve seen for an opposing team invading another’s home stadium, this part of the experience adds to the excitement. Think of the Georgia fans taking over South Bend a few years ago, which was one of the wildest pictures I’ve seen from a football game. It was like the entire city of Athens decided to make that trip, knowing that it doesn’t come very often, which is the same example I like to use when describing the upcoming game this weekend.

No, I’m not saying it’s going to look anything like what we saw in South Bend, so don’t go acting crazy on social media after reading this. But, Tennessee fans have been waiting for a moment like this, just like any other rabid fan base that’s been begging for a situation like this.

When Josh Heupel took the job at Tennessee, he injected life back into the football program. I saw it with my own eyes in Baton Rouge, when the Vols took on LSU in 2022. Mind you, this was Heupel’s second season, with a 5-0 record and ranked No. 8 in the country. I’ve seen fans of opposing teams have a strong presence at a game, but I hadn’t seen anything like that for a program that was still trying to rebuild its program.

Tennessee fans took over Baton Rouge as the Vols faced LSU in 2022 Via: Trey Wallace

Remember that kickoff was at 11 a.m. local time, so imagine the impression it left on LSU fans when they saw at least 15,000 Tennessee faithful make it feel like a home game for the Vols, to the shock of LSU officials in the stadium that day.

“This is the craziest damn thing I’ve seen in a long time,” one LSU administrator said to me on the field in Baton Rouge.

Yea, it was crazy, and all it took was a little hope and the Vols faithful were hooked, ready to drive from all over the southeast to experience that game in ‘Death Valley’.

And if I’m being completely honest with you, I expect that on Saturday night in Columbus. But what I would recommend to Ohio State fans is to embrace the chaos because this College Football Playoff has changed everything.

Tennessee fans took over Baton Rouge as the Vols faced LSU in 2022 Via: Trey Wallace

Embrace The Chaos, Ohio State Fans.

That’s my advice to Buckeye fans this weekend. This isn’t your regular home game, where you might see a few thousand fans from the opposing team. This is the postseason of college football, much like what we see every year during March in college basketball, besides the fact that it’s not a neutral site.

For Ohio State fans, just embrace the noise, and pray that Ryan Day and the Buckeyes can win this game. I know it’s loud right now in Columbus, but getting beat on Saturday night at home, against Tennessee, would make life unbearable for those inside the football building until the start of next season.

Guess what, Ohio State fans? If you win on Saturday night, think of all the opposing fans you can let loose some of your best trash talking on. Also, the Tennessee faithful are helping the local economy, but those hotel rooms are cheaper than tickets to the game.

What I’m telling you is to enjoy the crazy atmosphere that’s coming on Saturday. You’re hosting one of the first-ever home playoff games in college football.

It doesn’t get much better than this, besides winning and going to Los Angeles, where it doesn’t feel like a second home for Santa Claus.