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The Alabama football team lost to SEC rival Tennessee earlier this season, giving the Crimson Tide a second loss in three weeks’ time. After the game, the only thing anyone could talk about was the crowd noise.
Alabama radio host Chris Stewart was heard accusing the Vols of pumping fake noise into Neyland Stadium in order to amplify the atmosphere.
“The noise level being what it is here, you’ve got 100,000+ and they also pump in crowd noise, as well,” he said on the broadcast with Alabama facing a 2nd-and-16 on offense.
Tennessee later debunked the insinuation, humbling Stewart who attempted to clarify his comments after the fact.
Neyland Stadium is one of the best venues in college football. It’s one of the loudest, too, housing nearly 102,000 screaming Volunteers on any given Saturday. No enhancement is necessary!
Kalen DeBoer found that out the hard way in his first trip to Knoxville.
He admitted that the crowd played a part in rattling Alabama throughout the football game. Crimson Tide players had issues hearing snap counts and communicating plays on offense.
@alabama__ftbl Kalen DeBoer discussed the impact of crowd noise in Neyland Stadium and preparing for Tiger Stadium’s similar hostile environment. #RTR #Alabama #RollTide #CrimsonTide #Tennessee #Neyland #LSU #CollegeFootball ♬ original sound – alabama__ftbl
The noise levels aided in Alabama committing a season-high 15 penalties.
DeBoer will use that loss as a learning experience with a trip to Baton Rouge coming up on the schedule. Alabama will play in Tiger Stadium at night, presenting another tall task in what should be a hostile football environment.
We’ll see if the Crimson Tide are able to clean up the issues.