KNOXVILLE, TN – Secret Service officials stood outside Neyland Stadium on Friday afternoon putting the final touches on their plans for President Trump’s arrival to the biggest college football game of the weekend.
Roads were starting to be closed, students were roaming around Tennessee’s campus on their way from class, while a number of Texas Longhorn fans took in the sights on this beautiful day before a top-15 showdown in the SEC.
It’s all adding up for a monumental afternoon in Knoxville, as Arch Manning makes his first ever stop at the University of Tennessee in hopes of beating his uncle Peyton’s beloved Vols.
Essentially, this game has everything you could ask for in college football. And, if the previous two weeks in Austin and Oxford are any indication, we are in for one heck of an afternoon.
As you made your way around the beautiful Tennessee campus, it wasn’t hard to pick up on the anticipation of Saturday’s game. For only the fifth time in each team’s history, the Vols and Longhorns will play each other, with this one taking place inside the historic Neyland Stadium.
Standing inside the Tennessee apparel store, fans ran into former wide receiver Joey Kent.
Around other parts of campus, Peyton Manning took time to visit with students, one day after country star Ella Langley brought her expansive tour to the Vols basketball arena.
But, there is also something to be said for the visiting fans who are lucky enough to make the trip to Tennessee for the game on Saturday. There were plenty of Texas fans wearing burnt orange roaming the beautiful campus, throwing up the signature ‘Hook em’ as they ran into some of their own.
For the first time this season, Arch Manning and the Longhorns have hit the road, with 102,000 fans waiting for their arrival on Saturday morning.
“This place is gorgeous, and I’m not afraid to pay an opponent a compliment,” one Texas fan told OutKick. “I’ve been to a number of SEC campuses, but this one might take the cake on Saturday (besides DKR). Everyone has been so nice to us since we arrived on Thursday, and the downtown scene with what i think is ‘Market Square’ is gorgeous.
“But, it will end up being a whole lot better when we leave here with a win.”
At just about every corner around Neyland Stadium, you could see security preparing for Donald Trump’s arrival.
Meetings were being held outside Tennessee’s cathedral, while it wasn’t hard to notice officers walking the perimeter, even if they were plain-clothed officers.
The security has obviously been increased ahead of President Donald Trump touching down just miles away from campus.
Tennessee officials were so hellbent on getting fans inside the stadium before kickoff, amid the increased law enforcement traffic, that they are offering half-priced concessions from 9 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET inside Neyland Stadium, including alcohol.
As for fans and students on the Tennessee campus, the presence of President Donald Trump brought a mixed bag of feelings.
“Why in the world would he (Trump) choose this game? He should have gone to Florida or something,” one student told OutKick. “This place is going to be a traffic nightmare already. But, I guess he has to garner some more support for a bill (Protect College Sports Act) that does not help the everyday citizen.”
Another student, who found out about Trump coming to campus on Friday morning, was excited about being in the same stadium as a sitting president.
“Look, I’ll be able to one day tell my children I got to watch a football game in the same stadium as the President,” a Tennessee sophomore told OutKick. “I really don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on or how bad the traffic will be, it’s actually pretty cool.”
That’s one way to entice fans to enter the gates early: just offer them cheap beer that will take some of the sting away from potentially missing out on a full-blown tailgate.
While the exact time has yet to be announced, due to security measures, the President will most likely be scene from inside the stadium as Air Force One flies over before landing at Tyson McGee Airport. Then, he will depart for Tennessee’s campus via motorcade, with a number of streets being blocked off on Friday night in advance of his arrival.
Somewhat lost in all of the pregame talk of security and traffic concerns, we are prepared to witness a monumental game between two storied programs.
And yes, there will be plenty of family members with the last name ‘Manning’ in the house to either cheer on their nephew Arch, or quietly pull for the Tennessee Vols.
You can obviously expect Peyton Manning to be torn, though he clearly wants to see his nephew find some type of success in the same stadium that the elder-Manning set multiple passing records.
But, this is also a showdown between two teams fighting to keep a goose-egg in the loss column.
Can Tennessee upset the No. 1 ranked Longhorns behind true-freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon? Sure they can, though relying on his running backs will play a pivotal part in this matchup. We all saw what Arch did through three quarters against Ohio State two weeks ago, and it wasn’t as if he lit up the scoreboard last week against UTSA.
For the Vols to beat Texas, it will take a monumental effort from a defensive unit led by All-SEC linebacker Arion Carter. And, this won’t be an easy game for that group, as linebackers coach William Ingle is currently hospitalized with an unknown illness just a few miles away from the Tennessee campus.
Though, as we’ve seen over the past three weeks in college football, anything is possible once you hit the field, and it would not be shocking if No. 14 Tennessee pulled off the upset on Saturday afternoon.
Either way, we are set to see a number of firsts in Knoxville.
Arch Manning makes his first appearance in the house his uncle Peyton immortalized, while Tennessee looks to shock the college football world once again under head coach Josh Heupel.
Get yourself situated for a fantastic Saturday, and it all starts here in East Tennessee.