Heupel said ‘it matters here’ for Tennessee

Tennessee football looks ready for Florida.

The dominant performance in a 63-6 win over Akron on Saturday night and the injuries suffered by the Vols (3-0) must be weighed to determine the health of the No. 16 team in the nation.

But there’s no doubt that Neyland Stadium is ready for the Gators (2-1).

Tennessee fans are simmering ahead of next Saturday’s game. And there was evidence before the Akron game ended that a rehearsal was underway.

The Smokey mascot wrestled an inflatable alligator in the end zone during a TV timeout, and the student section went wild. When a man wearing a Florida jersey appeared on the videoboard, Tennessee fans booed incessantly.

Those events occurred with just a few minutes left in the game, but tens of thousands of fans remained. It’s as if they wanted to stay in their seats until

Florida arrived.

Coach Josh Heupel, without uttering a word about the Gators, hinted at the task ahead for Tennessee fans.

“Our fan base was absolutely electric,” Heupel said. “The energy (and) the noise were all a huge part of the football game at the very beginning.

“You want to be somewhere where people care, where they’re passionate, where it matters. It matters here.”

What a sellout for Akron game means against Florida

But anecdotes don’t fully define the state of Tennessee fans right now. Butts in seat do.

The Akron game was a sellout, and not just in a technical sense. All tickets were sold, which means Tennessee could announce an attendance of 101,915.

But a quick scan of the crowd at kickoff revealed that fans didn’t stay at home. Neyland Stadium was near capacity, and it was loud.

“This (sellout) says a lot about Vol nation,” wide receiver Jalin Hyatt said. “We love them. It doesn’t matter where we’re at. I can be at Wal-mart and we’ll see (fans). That’s why I’m grateful for our fans.”

It was Tennessee’s first sellout for a nonconference game since rocking Neyland Stadium during a double-overtime loss to No. 19 Oklahoma in 2015.

But Akron isn’t Oklahoma.

At most schools – and even at times in Tennessee’s past – such a game against a Mid-american Conference team would serve as an off week for fans.

But now is not the time to rest, and Tennessee fans sense that.

Heupel wants raucous crowd to greet Gators

Tennessee has lost 16 of the last 17 games against Florida.

But with the Vols on the rise and the Gators adjusting to a new coach, this may be the best opportunity in years to turn the series around.

“We’ve got to get ready for Florida. That’s our mindset now,” Hyatt said. “We feel great. We’re 3-0. But it’s time to go to work now.”

Heupel opened his press conference by praising Tennessee fans, who lined the streets before the predictably uncompetitive game.

“It was the best Vol Walk I’ve ever been a part of,” Heupel said.

Really? The best ever? For the Akron game?

“It’s college football as good as it gets,” Heupel said. “I’ve never been part of anything like tonight.”

Permit Heupel a little latitude for hyperbole.

His praise of Tennessee fans seemed like a challenge for them to top this atmosphere next game. More noise. More boos. More butts in seats.

Rest assured, the fans got the message. Or, perhaps, they sent it.

Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @Adamsparks.