Tennessee junior running back Jalen Hurd bursts through a hole in the Appalachian State defensive line in the Vols' 20-13 overtime win over the Mountaineers last Thursday night at Neyland Stadium. Hurd will be looking for his fifth straight 100-yard game against Virginia Tech in Saturday's Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol game at Bristol Motor Speedway.
photo by Dennis Norwood/File Photo
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee takes on Virginia Tech in the much-anticipated Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol on Sept. 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
ESPN College GameDay built by Home Depot will be on site at 9 a.m. ET and the game itself will feature a live broadcast on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
Saturday's broadcast on ABC will have Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit calling the game from the booth and Samantha Ponder reporting from the sidelines. Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest, Brent Hubbs and Eddie Moore in the booth with John Brice on the sidelines.
Tickets for the game can be purchased online via BristolMotorSpeedway.com.
Tennessee is 5-3 all-time against Virginia Tech. The teams last played on Dec. 31, 2009, in the Chick-fil-A Bowl with the Hokies taking a 37-14 win. The Vols' last win over Virginia Tech was a 45-23 victory in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 30, 1994, in Gainesville, Fla.
UT is coming off of a 20-13 win over Appalachian State in its season opener on Sept. 1. The Vols are on a seven-game winning streak, which is their longest since winning seven-straight in 2001.
Virginia Tech took a 36-13 win over Liberty on Sept. 3 in Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies, who were 7-6 in 2015, have won three-straight games.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BIGGEST EVER
The Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol is being billed as "College Football’s Biggest Ever" as more than 150,000 fans are expected to be in attendance.
The current attendance record for college football is 115,109, set Sept. 7, 2013 when Notre Dame met Michigan at Michigan Stadium.
IN-STATE NEUTRAL SITES
The Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol will represent the 55th game played by the Volunteers at a neutral site inside the state of Tennessee. In its program history, UT is 38-16 (.704) in neutral site games played in Tennessee.
The 38-16 record includes both bowl games and regular season contests.
Last season, Tennessee opened the season with a 59-30 win over Bowling Green at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
HURD'S 100 STREAK
Junior running back Jalen Hurd has now rushed past the century mark in each of his last four games after posting 110 rushing yards against Appalachian State last week.
A 100-yard effort against Virginia Tech in Bristol would give Hurd five straight games of 100 yards, tying him for the third-longest streak in Tennessee history (Arian Foster, Chuck Webb).
MOST OT WINS EVER
Tennessee's overtime victory over Appalachian State marked UT's 12th overtime win in school history — the most among FBS programs since the overtime rule was implemented during the 1995-96 bowl season. The win snapped a three-game losing streak in overtime games.
The Vols are 12-6 in overtime games and their 18 overtime appearances are also the most in FBS history.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech went 7-6 (4-4) in 2015 and finished tied for fourth in the Coastal Division of the ACC.
The Hokies closed the season with a 55-52 win over Tulsa in the Independence Bowl, giving Frank Beamer his 280th career win at the conclusion of his 29th and final season in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech was 5-2 in games away from Lane Stadium last year.
Last week in the Hokies' 36-13 win over Liberty, quarterback Jerod Evans passed for 221 yards and four touchdowns while also leading the team in rushing with 46 yards on five carries.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)