Home Field Advantage? Tennessee Vols Have Been Terrible at Neyland for 15 Years

Based on recent history, the large crowd of Volunteers fans at Neyland Stadium will mean nothing when the Tennessee Vols face the Oklahoma Sooners Saturday.

You’ve heard this story before.

The Tennessee Vols are hosting a big game in a showdown between two ranked teams. Both have a lot to play for.

And being a home game on a Saturday evening, the Neyland Stadium crowd will be rocking, and that’s supposed to rattle the visiting team, right?

Think again.

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Perhaps it is a Y2K curse. Maybe Neyland Stadium has become more like the Billion-Dollar Playpin in Dallas and a tourist attraction for visitors over a hostile environment.

But whatever the reason, the Volunteers have no history this millennium to rely upon to suggest their home audience will have any impact.

After having a winning record against ranked teams and even against Top 10 teams at Neyland in the 1990s, the numbers have reversed since 2000.

Tennessee since then has gone 9-22 against ranked teams at home. And they are 1-17 against Top 10 teams.

Let’s say that again: 1-17!

Here is a full chart comparing the 1990s vs. the 2000s.

Many will say these numbers are skewed because of the major fall-off the Vols have had since 2008. But an argument from the other side can be made that those numbers are always skewed when you consider that they get a guaranteed three cupcakes at home every year to beef up the overall record.

And, since we are going to be in that business, let’s just compare the 1990s to 2000-2007.

As you can see, even in this period, the Vols were terrible at home. In fact, there was a nearly three-year period between 2001 and 2004 when they did not beat a ranked team at home.

At that same time, the Vols went undefeated on the road twice. And in fact, they had a better record on the road just before the fall-off began in 2008 in games that mattered. Let’s compare that for this time period.

As you can see here, the Vols were actually a little bit better on the road this time than at home. Even in their disastrous 2005 season, they scored a win against a Top Five opponent on the road.

They are winless against the Top Five at home this millennium.

Of course, since 2007, they are winless against ranked teams on the road period and only 2-13 against them at home, with both coming against South Carolina.

This is not to say that the Vols are a surefire bet to lose on Saturday. But it does hint that history is working against them.

For too long now, Neyland Stadium has turned into simply a cool place for visiting teams to go to. Tennessee needs to end that Saturday evening.

The checkered Neyland Stadium is nice. We know the fans will be rocking.

But all the talk about the hostile environment is overrated if it does not help on the field.

Butch Jones appears determined to restore the Vols to where they once were. Well, that does not mean going back to the mid-2000s.

It means going back to the 1990s. Keep in mind after Florida in 1996, the Vols had an undefeated streak at home that was not broken until Florida of 2000. And after that one loss to Florida, it has been a slow decline at home.

That is the biggest thing Jones needs to get back, and he has the perfect opportunity against Oklahoma Saturday.

Next: Five Sooners to Watch for Against the Vols

Based on recent history, the large crowd of Volunteers fans at Neyland Stadium will mean nothing when the Tennessee Vols face the Oklahoma Sooners Saturday.

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