College football fans got another reminder this week that Josh Pate is all in on Neyland Stadium.
The analyst doubled down on his belief that Tennessee’s home field is the toughest place to play in the sport, and he did it with No. 1 Texas heading to Knoxville to face No.
14 Tennessee on Saturday. Pate originally made the argument on his “College Football Show” podcast after EA Sports placed Neyland at No. 12 in College Football 26, and he brought the clip back into circulation Wednesday night, three days before the Longhorns’ first trip to Knoxville.
"Not only is Tennessee top 10, Neyland Stadium's the toughest place to play in college football," Pate said.
He didn’t stop there. Pate took direct aim at EA’s ranking.
"I've got all the respect in the world for the folks at EA," Pate said. "To have Tennessee outside the top 10 of toughest places to play in college football is evidence of drug use."
Pate, a Columbus, Georgia, native, said he has seen the place up close and knows exactly what kind of noise Neyland can generate.
"I've been there for the best of it," Pate said. "I shot this myself.
I've been a part of it. Deafening."
For Pate, the atmosphere is only part of the problem for visiting teams. The other piece is the soundtrack.
"There's also the psychological factor, because 'Rocky Top' is the most annoying sound in the world to anyone who's not a Tennessee fan," Pate said.
He added that road teams hear the song all week during practice, and said it becomes especially punishing if Tennessee grabs a late lead.
"I've never been in an avalanche before, but I imagine Tennessee taking the lead on you in the fourth quarter and 'Rocky Top' blaring during one of the nine-minute commercial breaks, that's what an avalanche of orange feels like," Pate said.
Pate’s stance hasn’t softened. When he ranked the toughest stadiums again in March 2026, he still had Neyland at No. 1, even above LSU’s Tiger Stadium. "At its best, I have never seen anything like it," Pate said.
EA Sports has at least moved in his direction. College Football 27 now has Neyland at No. 8, up from No. 12 a year ago and up from No. 13 in College Football 25. Tiger Stadium sits at No. 1, followed by Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium, Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, Georgia’s Sanford Stadium and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Tennessee’s results at home took a hit in 2025, though. The Vols had gone 25-4 at Neyland in Josh Heupel’s first four seasons before losing three home games last fall to Georgia, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
Saturday brings a big stage anyway. Texas enters at 3-0, Tennessee at 3-0, and the game will kick off at noon ET on ABC. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on campus, and Tennessee’s annual Checker Neyland setup will be in place.
The matchup carries a little extra curiosity because the schools have never met in the regular season. Their three previous games all came in the Cotton Bowl, with the last one played in 1969.
Texas edged Ohio State 24-23 earlier this month, while Tennessee has scored at least 42 points in each of its first three games.
And for Arch Manning, the trip adds one more first. The Texas quarterback, whose uncle Peyton Manning played at Tennessee, has never been to a Tennessee game before. Saturday will be his first inside Neyland Stadium.
In Other News...
Reds Report Puts Ownership Heat On Krall Debate All Over Again
A fresh Athletic report has reopened one of the Reds longest-running internal debates, putting the focus back on how Cincinnati has tried to balance immediate competitiveness with the slower work of building a lasting core. According to the report, owner Bob Castellini and front office executive Nick Krall were at odds over the direction of the roster, with Krall pushing to stock the organization with younger talent while Castellini resisted moves that would have shipped out more established players.
For a club that has spent years trying to turn scattered progress into something more durable, the tension matters because it speaks to who ultimately gets to define the plan. The report also revisits some of the trades Krall has made along the way, but the broader issue remains the same: whether the Reds can keep moving forward with a clear organizational vision, or whether the pull between short-term and long-term thinking will keep surfacing every time the roster gets close to a pivot point. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Collapse Put One Big Clubhouse Problem Front And Center
The Reds finish 2026 at 73-85, a step backward that feels especially harsh after last years playoff appearance gave the clubhouse a different kind of credibility. There were still bright spots along the way, including strong individual seasons from players such as Sal Stewart, but the bigger picture never came together for a club that ended up last in the National League Central.
What made the collapse harder to ignore was the way the roster was built around youth without much in the way of veteran reinforcement over the winter. That left a young core carrying most of the burden while the front office tried to sort out what the next version of this team should look like, and it is the kind of offseason question that now hangs over everything the Reds have to do next. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Frustration Boils Over As New Questions Hit The Organization
The Reds head into the finale against the Braves at Truist Park with Brady Singer set to take the ball for Cincinnati opposite Tyler Mahle, a familiar name now pitching for Atlanta. Singers season has been a mixed one, with his performance shaped by clear splits, while Mahle has put together a strong enough 2026 campaign to make this matchup a tricky one for Cincinnati as it tries to close the series on a better note.
But the conversation around the club goes well beyond one game. A recent Athletic report described growing internal tension inside the Reds organization, with friction developing between ownership and the front office, adding another layer of uncertainty for a team already trying to stabilize its on-field footing. For a franchise that keeps talking about moving forward, the bigger question now is whether the people running it are aligned on how to get there. [Read more 🡒]