Battle at Bristol

Last updated

Battle at Bristol
2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol.jpg
Virginia Tech Hokies Tennessee Volunteers
(1–0)(1–0)
ACC SEC
2445
Head coach: 
Justin Fuente 		Head coach: 
Butch Jones
AP Coaches
1714
1234Total
Virginia Tech1403724
Tennessee02471445
DateSeptember 10, 2016
Season 2016
Stadium Bristol Motor Speedway
Location Bristol, Tennessee
Favorite Tennessee by 11.5 [1]
National anthem Jennifer Nettles [2]
Referee Daniel Capron (Big Ten)
Halftime show Marching Virginians
Pride of the Southland Band
Attendance156,990 [3]
United States TV coverage
Network ABC
Announcers

The Battle at Bristol was an American college football game played at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on Saturday, September 10, 2016, between the University of Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies. It holds the record for NCAA football's largest single-game attendance at 156,990. [4] Sponsored by truck stop chain Pilot Flying J, the game was known as the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol.

Contents

History

The first time football was ever played at Bristol Motor Speedway was an NFL exhibition game, held on September 2, 1961, between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. [5] The seating capacity for the speedway in 1961 was 18,000 people. Attendance for the game totaled 8,500 people. [6]

The idea of a marquee college football game at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) was originally proposed in 1997. After years of planning and scheduling, a contract was eventually finalized in 2013 for a 2016 game. The event was originally named the Battle at Bristol, between Tennessee and Virginia Tech. From the beginning, a primary goal and reason for holding the game at Bristol Motor Speedway was to break the all-time college football attendance record (previously 115,109; set on September 6, 2013, in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a game between Michigan and Notre Dame). [3] [7]

A primary reason for Virginia Tech and Tennessee being selected for the game is that the speedway is approximately equidistant between the two schools. Also, the city of Bristol is separated by the Virginia/Tennessee state line along the center of their main street, State Street. The game was the ninth meeting between the teams and their first regular season game since 1937. [8] The most recent meetings have been in bowl games: the 1994 Gator Bowl (Tennessee won 45–23) and the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl (Virginia Tech won 37–14).

Before kickoff, head coaches Butch Jones of Tennessee and Justin Fuente of Virginia Tech, along with Battle at Bristol officials, were presented with a plaque from Guinness World Records , stating that the Battle at Bristol had the largest audience to ever attend an American football game. [7]

(Note: Guinness World Records lists the attendance for the game at 130,045 people, as opposed to 156,990 people as calculated by Bristol Motor Speedway. The reason for the disparity, as explained on the Guinness official website is: "Guinness World Records only counts bar-coded, ticketed attendance for all attendance based records globally. As such, the record number achieved was calculated by counting only those tickets scanned upon entry into the motorway. The number does not include un-scanned tickets or any VIP or sponsor credentials, media credentials, players, coaches, team support staffs, game officials or event personnel." [9] The attendees omitted by this method are typically counted towards the official attendance number for college football game statistics.) [10]

Game summary

The game took place at 8:00 p.m. ET on September 10, 2016, in week two of the 2016 college football season. It was featured as the Saturday Night Football prime-time game on ABC and was chosen to host College GameDay that week. To tie in with the venue, former NASCAR on ESPN reporters Dr. Jerry Punch and Marty Smith joined Rece Davis (who filled in for Chris Fowler, who was working the 2016 US Open), Kirk Herbstreit, and Samantha Ponder during the broadcast. [11]

Pre-game

The coin toss ceremony featured alumni representatives from each school: Peyton Manning from Tennessee (1997) and Bruce Smith from Virginia Tech (1985). [12]

1st quarter

Tennessee won the opening coin toss but deferred to start the second half. Virginia Tech began the game from their 11-yard line and had a 13-play, 59-yard drive before stalling at the Volunteers' 30-yard line to give kicker Joey Slye a 47-yard field goal attempt which missed wide right. However, the Hokies' Ken Ekanem sacked Tennessee's quarterback Joshua Dobbs for a loss to end their opening drive. In the ensuing drive, Virginia Tech took eight plays to score first on a seven-yard pass from Jerod Evans to Sam Rogers. Tennessee was again forced to punt after a 3-and-out. Virginia Tech needed just two plays to score its second touchdown on Travon McMillian's 69-yard touchdown run. The teams swapped short drives to end the quarter. Virginia Tech led 14–0. [13]

During the break between quarters, former Virginia Tech Head Coach, Frank Beamer was honored at mid-field with an ovation from the crowd for his contributions to college football in his 29 years as the Hokies' head coach and for his instrumental role in creating the Battle at Bristol. [14]

2nd quarter

Virginia Tech began the second quarter with possession, but quarterback Jerod Evans fumbled on their 16-yard line, the ball bounced behind him, and Tennessee's Micah Abernathy recovered it at the 5 yard line. Joshua Dobbs then passed to wide receiver Jauan Jennings to give Tennessee their first points. The Volunteers defense stiffened for the remainder of the quarter, allowing the Hokies to gain only 36 yards offensively. The Tennessee offense responded by finishing the first half with a 24–14 lead. [13]

3rd quarter

The third quarter remained scoreless until Joshua Dobbs ran for 31 yards on one play then, two plays later, hit running back Alvin Kamara down the sidelines with a 23-yard pass. Kamara avoided the defensive coverage to score. On the following drive, Virginia Tech managed to reach the Volunteers 9-yard line but had to settle for Joey Slye's field goal. Tennessee was awarded a first down in their next drive, when the Hokies were penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer. However, Virginia Tech soon forced a punt. Each team swapped scoreless drives, and Tennessee finished the 3rd quarter with a 31–17 lead. [13]

4th quarter

To start the fourth quarter, Virginia Tech's Mook Reynolds intercepted Joshua Dobbs's pass near midfield. However, a penalty at the end of the play and another to start the next drive pushed the Hokies back to their own 19 yard line. Quarterback Jerod Evans took his offense 45 yards in 10 plays, before a fumble recovered by Tennessee's Micah Abernathy ended the drive at the 21. Abernathy recovered his school-record third fumble, following Virginia Tech's mismanaging their punt return that ended a Tennessee drive. With only just over half a field to work with, Joshua Dobbs went the distance, scoring a few plays later on a 27-yard run. The Hokies fumbled again to start their next drive, giving the Volunteers the ball at the four-yard line. Running back John Kelly ran it in to cap Tennessee's scoring for the game. Virginia Tech totaled 79 yards in 10 plays on their final drive of the game, scoring on a 2-yard run by Shai McKenzie. Tennessee maintained final possession to run the clock out and close the game with a score of 45–24. [13]

Post-game

A post game fireworks display and a trophy presentation to the Tennessee Volunteers were held on the field as fans exited the speedway.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP VTTENN
14:328623:11VTSam Rogers 7-yard touchdown reception from Jerod Evans, Joey Slye kick good70
12:492770:47VTTravon McMillian 69-yard touchdown run, Joey Slye kick good140
214:43150:06TENN Jauan Jennings 7-yard touchdown reception from Joshua Dobbs, Aaron Medley kick good147
29:424901:39TENN Josh Malone 38-yard touchdown reception from Joshua Dobbs, Aaron Medley kick good1414
25:35672:17TENN34-yard field goal by Aaron Medley1417
20:399583:21TENNJoshua Dobbs 5-yard touchdown run, Aaron Medley kick good1424
37:045521:22TENN Alvin Kamara 23-yard touchdown reception from Joshua Dobbs, Aaron Medley kick good1431
33:457423:23VT26-yard field goal by Joey Slye1731
46:457793:59TENNJoshua Dobbs 27-yard touchdown run, Aaron Medley kick good1738
46:32140:05TENN John Kelly 4-yard touchdown run, Aaron Medley kick good1745
43:2810793:04VTShai McKenzie 2-yard touchdown run, Joey Slye kick good2445
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.2445

Game statistics

StatisticsVTTENN
First Downs2416
3rd Down Efficiency7–143–13
Rushes–yards45–18646–238
Passing yards21491
Passing: Comp–Att–Int20–28–010–19–1
Time of possession31:4428:16

Related Research Articles

The 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. With sponsorship from Chick-fil-A, it was the 39th edition of the game previously known as the Peach Bowl. Georgia represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition. The game was the final game of the 2006 football season for each team and resulted in a 31–24 Georgia victory, even though spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win by three points. In exchange for the right to pick the first ACC team after the Bowl Championship Series selections, bowl representatives paid US$3.25 million to the ACC, while the SEC, whose fifth team was selected, received $2.4 million. The combined $5.65 million payout was the seventh-largest among all college football bowl games, and the fourth-largest non-BCS bowl game payout.

The 2007 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the Boston College Eagles and the Virginia Tech Hokies in a regular-season college football game that determined the conference's champion for the 2007 season. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 30–16 to win the ACC football championship. The game, held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, was a rematch of a regular-season game that took place on October 25, in Blacksburg, Virginia. In that game, Boston College, courtesy of a late-game comeback by quarterback Matt Ryan, won 14–10.

The 2005 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game was the inaugural contest of the championship game for the recently expanded Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was a regular season-ending American college football contest held at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida State Seminoles. The game decided the winner of the ACC football championship. Florida State University (FSU) defeated Virginia Tech 27–22 in a game characterized by penalties, defense, and a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Virginia Tech. The game was the final contest of the regular season for the teams, as bowl games are not considered part of the regular season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Sugar Bowl</span> College football game

The 2000 Sugar Bowl was the designated Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game for the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season and was played on January 4, 2000, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The Florida State Seminoles, representing the Atlantic Coast Conference, defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies, representing the Big East Conference, by a score of 46–29. With the win, Florida State clinched the 1999 BCS national championship, the team's second national championship in its history.

The 2008 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Boston College Eagles. The game, sponsored by Dr Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2008 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 30–12. Until 2021, this was the last ACC Championship Game to not feature Clemson or Florida State from the Atlantic Division.

The 1993 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Indiana Hoosiers at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 31, 1993. The 18th edition of the Independence Bowl was the final contest of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 45–20 victory for Virginia Tech. The game was the first bowl victory for Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, and began a streak of 27 consecutive bowl appearances for Virginia Tech.

The 2006 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, on January 2, 2006. The game was the final contest of the 2005 football season for each team and resulted in a 35–24 Virginia Tech victory. Louisville represented the Big East Conference, and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition.

The 1984 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Air Force Falcons at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, on December 15. The game was the final contest of the 1984 season for both teams, and ended in a 23–7 victory for Air Force.

The 1986 Peach Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the North Carolina State Wolfpack from on December 31, 1986. The game was the final contest of the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 25–24 victory for Virginia Tech, the first bowl victory in school history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Gator Bowl</span> College football game

The 1994 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, on December 30, 1994. The game was the final contest of the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 45–23 victory for Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Tennessee Volunteers football team</span> American college football season

The 2009 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Lane Kiffin. The 2009 season was Kiffin's first and only at Tennessee; he left to take the head coaching job at the University of Southern California (USC) on January 12, 2010. The Vols played their home games in Neyland Stadium and competed in the Eastern Division of the SEC. The Vols finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in SEC play, and lost in the Chick-fil-A Bowl 37–14 to Virginia Tech.

The 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Tennessee Volunteers played on December 31, 2009, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. With sponsorship from Chick-fil-A, it was the 42nd edition of the game known throughout most of its history as the Peach Bowl. Virginia Tech defeated Tennessee 37–14. The game was part of the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. The game was televised in the United States on ESPN and the broadcast was seen by an estimated 4.87 million viewers.

The 2011 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by interim head coach Everett Withers and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels finished the season 7–6 overall and 3–5 in ACC play to tie for fourth in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Independence Bowl, where they were defeated by Missouri, 24–41.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team</span> American college football season

The 2010 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by 3rd year head coach Paul Johnson and played their home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium. They are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Coastal Division. They finished the season 6–7, 4–4 in ACC play. They were invited to the Independence Bowl where they were defeated by Air Force 7–14.

The 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida in the United States. This was the first under the Russell Athletic moniker after eight game under Champs Sports. The 23rd edition of the Russell Athletic Bowl began at 5:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Big East Conference co-champion Rutgers Scarlet Knights against the Virginia Tech Hokies from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Hokies accepted their invitation after achieving a 6–6 record in the regular season, while the Scarlet Knights accepted theirs after achieving a 9–3 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Dobbs</span> American football player (born 1995)

Robert Joshua "Josh" Dobbs is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team</span> American college football season

The 2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the program's 120th overall season, 83rd as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and 25th within the SEC Eastern Division. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and were led by fourth-year head coach Butch Jones. They finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Nebraska.

The 2016 Music City Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 30, 2016, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, from the Big Ten Conference, and the Tennessee Volunteers, from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games of the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game was sponsored by the Franklin American Mortgage Company and was officially known as the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. As of 2023 this was the last bowl berth by Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendon Hooker</span> American football player (born 1998)

Alan Hendon Hooker is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and Tennessee, where he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. Hooker was drafted by the Lions in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

References

  1. ↑ "College football matchups". VegasInsider.com. VegasInsider.com Inc. September 6, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Jennifer Nettles to sing National Anthem for Battle at Bristol". WVLT-TV . Bristol, Tennessee: Gray Television. September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Megargee, Steve (September 11, 2016). "Record crowd watches No. 17 Vols beat Virginia Tech 45–24". Associated Press. Bristol, Tennessee: AP Sports. Associated Press . Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Attendance Records" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  5. ↑ "The forgotten game–Bristol Motor Speedway". www.pittalks.com. April 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ Cole, Ed (September 8, 2016). "Redskins And Eagles Played First Football Game At Bristol Motor Speedway". www.redskins.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Sorrell, Robert (September 10, 2016). "Battle at Bristol breaks record for most attended college football game". Bristol Herald Courier . Bristol, Tennessee: Berkshire Hathaway . Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Winsipedia – VT v UT". www.winsipedia.com. September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Largest attendance at an American Football game". www.guinnessworldrecords.com. 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  10. ↑ Fambro, Cassie (December 2, 2014). "How is attendance calculated at USA football games?". www.al.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  11. ↑ "ABC has the Battle at Bristol; ESPN starts the day with GameDay". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ WILSON, SCOTT (July 13, 2016). "NFL legends to take part in coin toss for Battle at Bristol". www.wset.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Virginia Tech vs Tennessee (Sep 10, 2016)". utsports.com. CBS Interactive. September 10, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ Gregory, Allen (September 11, 2016). "A banner night for BMS, Bristol". www.heraldcourier.com. Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.