Ohio State announces a game day timeline for tailgating and when Ohio Stadium gates open for the College Football Playoff matchup versus Tennessee.
First-round College Football Playoff games will be contested Dec. 20-21.
No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) will host No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) on Dec. 21. Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is slated for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio (ABC).
The contest will be the first for Tennessee playing in Ohio. Ohio Stadium will also host its first Buckeyes’ football game in December all time.
Ahead of the first-round matchup, Ohio State announced a game day timeline.
Tailgating and parking lots will open at 5 a.m. EST.
Ohio State’s team shop will open at 4 p.m. EST. Fan fest and ticket offices will open at 5 p.m. EST, while Ohio Stadium gates are scheduled to open at 6 p.m. EST.
Ohio State president Ted Carter discusses his expectation for the amount of Tennessee fans to attend the Tennessee-Ohio State game.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will play at No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) on Dec. 21 in the first-round of the College Football Playoff.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The contest will be televised by ABC.
Ahead of the game, University of Tennessee president Randy Boyd mentioned Ohio State is expecting 30 percent of Ohio Stadium to be filled with Vol fans.
“Great to run into Ohio State president Ted Carter at the New Era Forum held at Deloitte University,” Boyd said. “He thinks the stadium may be 30% orange – way to go Vol fans! First game ever played at Ohio Stadium in the month of December, and likely the first below freezing game the Vols have played in decades! Going to be a great game!”
Report: Wisconsin schedules visit with Ohio State transfer linebacker
Wisconsin is one of several major programs to have a visit scheduled with Ohio State transfer linebacker Gabe Powers, according to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu.
Trieu reports that Powers is also set to visit Minnesota and Kansas State.
Powers entered the portal this week after three quiet years with the Buckeyes. He originally joined the program as a four-star recruit in the class of 2022, choosing the in-state power over Wisconsin and others.
He played in 24 games over three seasons, primarily on special teams. His totals include 12 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and one pass deflection.
He’s in the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.
Ohio State LB transfer Gabe Powers has visits set with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kansas State.
Wisconsin is targeting inside linebacker with veterans Jake Chaney and Jaheim Thomas both out of eligibility. Christian Alliegro figures as a primary starter in 2025, with a big question mark at the other starting position. USC transfer Tackett Curtis saw playing time in 2024, though Wisconsin’s portal pursuits indicate the staff’s desire to enter 2025 with more options at the position.
The Badgers appear to have serious competition to land Powers’ commitment, which could signal how the sport views his potential. After being a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school, a starting opportunity may be all he needs to break out.
Bookmark our offer and visit tracker for more information on Wisconsin’s scheduled visits at this stage of the process.
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ESPN and ABC will broadcast the first-round College Football Playoff game between Notre Dame and Indiana. And “College GameDay” wants to be in South Bend before it kicks off.
This will be the 37th time the Irish have been featured on “College GameDay” and the second time this season after they were featured ahead of their season-opening victory over Texas A&M. They currently have an unfortunate 16-20 all-time record in those games so far.
“College GameDay” last came to South Bend a season ago. That was before the Irish infamously had only 10 men on the field on the play that caused them to lose in gut-wrenching fashion to Ohio State. Hopefully, the Irish fans who gather on the Library Lawn this time around will be a lot happier after this upcoming appearance.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
Turrentine transferred to Tennessee ahead of the 2022 season. He has appeared in 36 games for the Vols since 2022, totaling 64 tackles, four tackles for a loss, two interceptions and six pass deflections.
“I’m just excited,” Turrentine said of playing his former team. “Excited to get back on the field and play one more time with these guys. I’m excited to play that team. I know a lot of guys on that team, so just having that brotherhood and camaraderie from being a freshman there is going to be big in this game, and for me personally it gives you a reason to be excited for this game.”
Turrentine enrolled at Ohio State in June 2021 and played in four games for the Buckeyes.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will play No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) on Dec. 21.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is slated for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The game will be televised by ABC.
Andre Turrentine. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is slated for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The game will be televised by ABC.
Ohio State and Tennessee both concluded regular-season play on Nov. 30. The Buckeyes lost to Michigan, 13-10, at home, while Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt, 36-23, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ohio State’s losses were to the Wolverines and Big Ten champion Oregon.
The Buckeyes are ranked sixth in the final College Football Playoff poll, while Tennessee is ranked seventh.
Ole Miss running back transfer Quinshon Judkins led Ohio State in rushing during the regular-season. He totaled 147 rushing attempts for 805 yards and eight touchdowns. Judkins also recorded 15 receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown.
Quarterback Will Howard completed 227-of-314 passing attempts for 2,860 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also totaled 131 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 72 attempts.
Jeremiah Smith leads the Buckeyes in receiving. He recorded 57 receptions for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular-season.
Safety Sonny Styles leads Ohio Sate with 76 tackles. He also recorded four sacks and one fumble recovery. Linebacker Cody Simon recorded 74 tackles, five sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for the Buckeyes this season.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will play at No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) on Dec. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The contest will be the first for Tennessee all time at Ohio State.
With 12 days until game day, Vols Wire looks at the first extended weather forecast for the Tennessee-Ohio State contest. The Weather Channel’s extended monthly forecast is projecting a high of 33 degrees with a 23 degree low in Columbus on Dec. 21.
During the day on Dec. 21, considerable cloudiness, 10-15 mph wind and a 17 percent wintry mix is projected. Considerable cloudiness, 10-15 mph wind and a nine percent chance of snow is projected at night for the game.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel previews the Vols playing at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field was announced on Sunday. No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) will host No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) on Dec. 21 in the first round.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is slated for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio (ABC).
Fourth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media and discussed the Vols’ first-round matchup.
“Certainly excited about being in the playoff, and obviously playing a great program that’s had a ton of success in recent history, but throughout their program history, certainly what they’ve done on the field this year,” Heupel said. “Excited that we get an opportunity to play an elite program like that. As we get ready here, understand what it’s going to take to go on the road and play really good football against a great football team.”
Heupel also discussed preparing to play in cold weather.
“Not sure what the temperature will be up there at night,” he said. “Know it won’t be sunny and 85. We played in 30-degree weather a week ago. 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 have got to be able to handle anything that comes at them, whether 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.”
PHOTOS: Tennessee-Ohio State football series through the years
Tennessee and Ohio State first played in football on Jan. 1, 1996. The Vols and Buckeyes played in the 1996 CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl.
Tennessee defeated the Buckeyes, 20-14, at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning completed 20-of-35 passing attempts for 182 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Joey Kent totaled seven receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown.
Running back Jay Graham led the Vols in rushing yards (154). He was named MVP of the game.
Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George totaled 101 rushing yards and one touchdown for the Buckeyes.
Below are photos of the only meeting between Tennessee and Ohio State all time.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is slated for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The contest will be televised by ABC.
Ohio State suffered losses at Oregon and against Michigan at home during the regular season. Tennessee lost two games on the road: to Arkansas and Georgia.
Following the announcement of the matchup, College Football Playoff committee chair and Michigan director of athletics Warde Manuel said why Ohio State is hosting Tennessee.
“You know what, we didn’t determine — how people host is not what our committee is doing,” Manuel said. “We’re ranking the teams, and the seeding principles come into effect, but obviously they were extremely close, one away from each other.
“What we did consider is all that you said. We took a look at where people lost, how people lost. Ohio State lost also on the road to the No. 1 team by one point, so we analyzed all of those things in terms of how — where the losses occurred, Tennessee lost at Arkansas, Ohio State lost at home to Michigan. We talked about all of that.
“Ultimately, as a committee and as we voted these teams, Ohio State was one ahead of Tennessee, but we didn’t look at it — as well, if we put Ohio State six and Tennessee seven, one is going to host and one is not. We never, I can assure you and everybody on this call, never even talked about it until after the top 25 was ranked.
“I made sure in this room that was not a point of consideration. That was not something for us to do. The commissioners asked us to rank the best 25 teams from 1 to 25, and that’s what we did.”
