KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee is preparing to host Alabama in Neyland Stadium for Saturday's matchup. As usual at UT, the game is expected to attract thousands of fans.
Alex Turnbull, a student at the university, said the game day atmosphere extends beyond campus.
"You don't have to even be in the game to enjoy Knoxville on game day. You could go to a bar, you could be here on ped (Pedestrian Walkway) watching the stadium from here and watching the fireworks go up. Just being in Knoxville on game day is unreal," Turnbull said.
Turnbull said he only attends UT because the Vols won against Alabama in 2022. He said he transferred after visiting Knoxville for the game.
"I visited for that and then had the best time of my life, so I went back to my old school, a small school in upstate New York, and put in the transfer application right away. I was like, this is the best place to be, why would I be anywhere else?" he said.
Alabama is heading into its matchup against Tennessee with a new head coach — Kalen DeBoer. Turnball said he believes the winner will be the team that can better handle the environment it's playing in.
"If you remember the last Alabama game when they had Nick Saban as a coach, we were so loud that they were having to waste timeouts because they couldn't even hear the ball getting snapped," he said. "So I think it doesn't come down to who's the better team, but I think it comes down to the environment and who can adapt better to it."
The game starts at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.