ESPN College Football

Auburn heads into Neyland Stadium to take on Tennessee this weekend, and ESPN.com's roster of experts includes three former head coaches who have led their teams into Knoxville to face the Volunteers. Here are their memories of playing at Neyland and why it is such a tough place:

Bill Curry
I stood in the bowels of Neyland Stadium with our Georgia Tech football team as we waited to take the field in 1983. We had played very well there two years earlier, losing a tight game in the closing minutes. In 1982 our struggling program had taken its first giant step to recovery with a win over Tennessee in Atlanta and in my mind this game was to be the next quantum leap for us.

It was a misty day with an eerie quality and poor light in the tunnel, obscured from the field as we were by a gaggle of dignitaries. They were to be introduced in a ceremony of some sort. In those days we were a favorite homecoming opponent, so maybe that was what was going on.

I heard the raucous crowd go silent at length, after which a raspy voice began to speak in reverent tones on the stadium's public address system. "That's a strange voice. What on Earth is he doing?" I wondered aloud. The security man standing with me leaned over and whispered loudly, "That's Reggie. He prays, too."

I struggled with that for several seconds until reality struck with a cold chill. Reggie White, the Minister of Defense, was praying with his crowd. I sensed we were in trouble. Not only could the future NFL Hall of Fame defensive end destroy offenses, he could invoke the assistance of the Almighty, doing so in a way that would inspire his team and the huge crowd. However all that works, it was effective for the Vols that day as White dominated before, during, and after the game.

Beware the spirits, holy or otherwise in that Neyland place!

Bob Davie
As a coach, I've been a part of teams that traveled to LSU, Florida State, Texas and almost every other place in the country that could be considered one of the toughest places to play as a visiting team. But when I was at Notre Dame, we went down to Knoxville for a night game in 1999 and the Tennessee crowd that night was the most impressive that I ever faced. The crowd absolutely took us out of the game from a communication standpoint. Neyland Stadium was just electric. I think we heard Rocky Top about 42 times. Of course, we gave them reason to play it a few times.

First of all, it is a flashy kind of a feel when you play in Knoxville, but particularly when you play there at night. Not only was there a fever pitch, but the crowd was educated. They knew that they were a factor, particularly when you were on offense and trying to change a play at the line of scrimmage. The Tennessee crowd can flat take you out of the game. If I had it to again, we would not have even check. We would work on a silent count. That's just the reality of playing there in a night game.

Look for the Tennessee crowd's ability to disrupt an offense to play a role Saturday night against Auburn too. Some fans might think Auburn's running-based offense would not be as susceptible as a wide-open passing attack, but that is not the case. Running teams do as much checking as passing teams. In fact, often times there are even more checks in the running game.

Jim Donnan
The Tennessee marching band plays "Rocky Top" an average of 41 times per game throughout the football season, but in my two appearances there with Georgia I felt like I heard it 441 times. That helps make Neyland Stadium one of the loudest, most imposing stadiums in the country, with its 108,000 orange-clad supporters cheering their beloved Vols on every play. That means hand signals for the wide receivers and silent counts for the linemen are a must during game preparations heading into Tennessee.

But my most vivid memory of Neyland -- and probably the strangest thing that ever happened to a team I coached -- had nothing to do with what transpired on the field. Our team came off the field after warm-ups to find the visitors dressing room filled with ankle-deep water. Pipes had burst above the ceiling and water was coming down like Niagara Falls. Talk about a home-field advantage. We ended up waiting in the tunnel before the game started.

Neyland is a haunted house -- every Saturday is Halloween in Knoxville -- but the best story I've heard about Tennesse fans is this: A Vols fan and a Georgia fan were on death row and the warden came to grant them each one final wish. "I'd like to hear Rocky Top one more time," the Tennessee fan said. The Georgia fan then stood up and said "Kill me first!"