Tennessee’s college football stars played a power move before their Saturday night showdown against Ohio State – running out shirtless in 25-degree weather to warm up for the game.
The players briefly stretched using exercise bands before having to eventually cover up due to NCAA rules making players wear shirts with their numbers on for warm-ups.
But with many predicting the cold Ohio weather being a factor counting against Tennessee, the players made their point loud and clear in a stadium that is set to hold thousands of traveling supporters.
Speaking about the conditions earlier in December, coach Josh Heupel was dismissive of suggestions his players would struggle with the cold conditions.
‘A week ago we played in 30-degree weather (at Vanderbilt),’ Heuepl said on December 8.
‘This isn’t the Deep South. We get some colder weather. We practice in the mornings. We’ll be outside during the course of our preparation.
Tennessee’s college football stars warmed up shirtless before the Ohio State game
The temperatures had dropped to 25 degrees as the teams headed out to get ready
NCAA rules meant that players were only shirtless for a short time before covering up
‘We’ll be ready to handle the elements when we get up to Columbus, Ohio.’
But fans on social media felt the gesture showed Tennessee were focusing too much on the noise around the game in the buildup.
‘Teams that are about to get blown out do stuff like this,’ one fan wrote on X.
Another social media user was in agreement, saying: ‘Honestly. When has this ever gone well for the team that does this? Don’t they usually lose when they try to act like the cold doesn’t matter and come out shirtless.
A different viewer posted: ‘I really can’t believe it worked. We told them for 2 weeks that it’s too cold for them and that’s all they could think about. We’re in their heads.’
Another sarcastically said: ‘Hang the banner. Players warm up without shirts in the cold.’
The power move backfired after four quarters as the Buckeyes steamrolled the Volunteers, 42-17.
Ohio State overwhelmed Tennessee in most statistics, including a lopsided 473-256 difference in total yards.
The victory secured the Buckeyes’ date with No 1 ranked Oregon in the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. Tennessee finished their season with a 10-3 record.
