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Tennessee to checker Neyland against Oklahoma

By John Buhler

Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; A general view of Neyland Stadium prior to the game against the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; A general view of Neyland Stadium prior to the game against the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Volunteers are again attempting to ‘checker’ Neyland Stadium when the Oklahoma Sooners come to town on September 12th.

The Tennessee Volunteers decided last year that it would be a fantastic idea to ‘checker’ the stands at Neyland Stadium to resemble their famous orange and white checker-patterned end zones.

Vol Nation has united and chose to alternate shirt color by sections before, doing so against one of their bitter rivals the Florida Gators.  While it was an interesting and successfully executed visual concept, the Vols lost to the Gators 10-9 and haven’t beaten Florida since 2004.

This fall, Vol Nation decided that it should try “checkering Neyland” again, this time against the Big 12 behemoth that is the Oklahoma Sooners.  Tennessee and Oklahoma are wrapping up a home-and-away series between the two historic programs in the Power 5.  Tennessee fell to the Sooners last season 34-10 on September 14th in Norman.

Both programs are certainly contending teams in their respective conferences, with a reasonable chance to make the College Football Playoff.  Tennessee is a major contender in the SEC East with the Georgia Bulldogs and the Missouri Tigers.  The Vols begin 2015 ranked No. 25.  Oklahoma will contend with the TCU Horned Frogs and the Baylor Bears as a hopeful Big 12 CFP representative. The Sooners start out 2015 ranked No. 19.

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The showdown between the Volunteers and the Sooners has the makings of a terrific non-conference game.  Winning this game would definitely be a major boost on either school’s playoff resumes.  However, isn’t it a little bold to carry out a distracting, fan-centric movement against a team that defeated your team by 24 points the previous season?

If Tennessee wants to make “Checker Neyland” an annual tradition, that’s totally fine, but wouldn’t it make more sense to do it against an SEC rival that Tennessee would likely beat?  Checkering Neyland doesn’t need the negative connotation of losing associated with a team spirit movement.  Doing it this year against No. 18 Arkansas (October 3rd), South Carolina (November 7th), or in-state rival Vanderbilt (November 28th), would keep the new tradition in good spirits with the fan base.

Tennessee is making a bold statement in organizing 2015’s “Checker Neyland” against Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma Sooners.  Doing it against Mark Richt’s No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs on October 10th would be in that same vein, since Tennessee hasn’t defeated Georgia in five seasons.

Fan movements can add excitement to a game, but they shouldn’t distract a team from playing a difficult opponent (i.e. 2008 Alabama-Georgia “Blackout Game”).  Maybe checkering Neyland gives the Vols the extra boost they need against the Sooners on the 12th, but should Tennessee lose to Oklahoma, expect “Checker Neyland” to fade away into obscurity for Vol Nation.

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