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Tennessee DB, Former Buckeye, Says 'The Shoe' Doesn't Stack Up to SEC Environments

Andre Turrentine began his career at Ohio State. He and the Vols will head to Ohio Stadium for the College Football Playoff.

Dan Lyons

University of Tennessee DB Andre Turrentine (2) speaks to the press on media day at the campus in Knoxville, Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
University of Tennessee DB Andre Turrentine (2) speaks to the press on media day at the campus in Knoxville, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. / Hannah Mattix/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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When Andre Turrentine transferred from Ohio State following his true freshman season in 2021, little did he know that he'd return for perhaps the biggest game of his college career with Tennessee three years later.

Turrentine and the Volunteers hit the road for a matchup of Big Ten and SEC powers in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, Dec. 21. When asked to compare his old home venue, Ohio Stadium, to those he plays in now with Tennessee, he doesn't think "The Shoe" is in the same tier as some of the football cathedrals that dot the SEC.

"The Shoe isn't as loud as the SEC," Turrentine said. "It's a different animal here. Whether you're at South Carolina at nighttime or Arkansas at nighttime or whether you're at Neyland at nighttime, or the daytime for that matter, it's loud here. It's deafening."

Perhaps recognizing that he was creating bulletin board material for his former program in real time, Turrentine walked things back a bit, but ultimately stuck by his statement: SEC stadiums, even those some of the league's second and third-tier programs, are louder environments than Ohio State.

"I would say the Shoe is the same way, that they have really diehard fans that are prepared to make enough noise as they need to," Turrentine said. "So I would say that the SEC is a little bit louder, but The Shoe brings it as well."

Ohio State is a 7.5-point favorite in the No. 8 vs. No. 9-seed matchup, so oddsmakers respect the Buckeyes' home-field advantage, evidently.

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Dan Lyons
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