Buckeye fans plan to avoid Tennessee takeover of Ohio Stadium
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday night in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. Both fan bases are planning to show up and show out for their team.
According to SeatGeek, 41% of its tickets to Saturday's game have been sold to billing addresses in Tennessee, while 25% have been sold to Ohio addresses.
Block O is the official student section of Ohio State Athletics. Block O's football director Adam Smith said Buckeye fans have heart and energy, which he thinks matters most at the end of the day.
"We've got the whole south end ready to go. That kind of drives the energy in the Shoe," Smith said.
Buckeye fans are not letting the cold temperatures stop them from attending their first-ever home football game in December, especially Ohio State senior and Block O president Gabi Cicerini.
"I know none of the seniors want to go down on a sad note, so we're ready to make as much noise as we can and sort of be the 12th man out there for our football team," Cicerini said.
Cicerini said Smith said it's all about bringing the energy.
"Don't underestimate a Buckeye fan," Cicerini said. "We are ride or die for our team. This is something you're born into in Ohio and so we're ready to go to war for our team just like they're ready to go to war for us."
"We do have the best damn fans in the land," Smith said. "They don't just broadcast that. We truly do. And I do believe that Buckeye Nation is going to come out and it's going to be loud. So, I don't expect to see a sea of orange. I don't expect to see the Shoe checkered by any means."
Meanwhile, Tennessee fan Manyoo Brown believes the Vols will travel well.
"There are tons of Tennessee fans currently right now plotting, scheming, buying tickets, to specifically spread the love," Brown said. "They call it spread the orange. They want to make sure this distance is not a hindrance to them in supporting their team."
Brown knows of multiple groups already headed out to Columbus.
"These Tennessee fans are loud, they're rowdy and they're passionate," Brown said. "They want to see Tennessee make it to next round and a lot of them are going to go support them in the Shoe."
Brown said Vols fans plan to "checker" out Ohio Stadium with their orange, while Buckeye fans will be decked out head to toe in scarlet. Nicole Zaayer with the Block O Alumni Society said this will make for a very interesting game.
"How much orange, how much red and just seeing if they really show up because I think it'd be really cool to see a huge turnout because it just makes the game more intense," Zaayer said. "It makes the players feel more during the game and get more excited to show up for the fans who are there."
According to Block O, they'll be sticking to what they know which is cheering on the Buckeyes from the south end. This time it will just be in front of a new audience.
"Tens of thousands of students in one end," Smith said. "All of them going crazy. All of them love the Buckeyes. It's just an unbeatable and indescribable experience."
The last time the Buckeyes and Volunteers faced off was in 1996 for the Citrus Bowl. The winner of Saturday night's game will advance to face top-seeded Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. Saturday's kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Ohio Stadium.