CBS Sports analyst give Tennessee Vol fans and Neyland Stadium the flowers that others haven't this offseason

Neyland Stadium has always been a place that's been filled with Tennessee fans through thick and thin.  But between 2007 and 2021, Neyland Stadium had turned into a place where many opposing fans loved to visit. They got a nice weekend in a great town in Knoxville and then saw their team win to wrap up the trip. 

That's changed in a big way with the sharp turnaround that Josh Heupel has accomplished during his four seasons on Rocky Top.  The Vols dropped two home close home games in his first season in 2021.  They've gone 20-1 in Knoxville since, with four wins over Alabama and Florida - extremely rare instances - during that span. 

And Neyland has returned to become one of the most intimidating college football venues in the country.  Whether it's a visiting play-by-play host accusing the university of pumping in crowd noise through the speakers (and subsequently walking that back) to visiting players saying it's the toughest place they've played, Tennessee has, once again, one of the best home field advantages in all of college football. 

That advantage was overlooked recently by EA Sports when they ranked Tennessee's home venue 12th in the country.  Brad Crawford of CBS Sports recently gave it a much higher and more deserved spot, ranking it second among all venues as far as most intimidating stadiums in the country (LSU came in first). 

This is what Crawford had to say about Neyland: 

Tennessee set a college football noise record in 2022 near the end of the 52-49 win over Alabama with a level exceeding 125.4 decibels. By comparison, the jet engine of a F-22 Raptor hits 140 decibels from 80 feet away. Essentially, opposing players listen to what matches the sound of deafening aircraft for 60 minutes when playing the Vols. That's quite the advantage for the home team.

Crawford also made an observation about how well Tennessee has played at home recently: 

The criteria are subjective but largely based on first-hand experience inside several of these venues during high-stakes matchups, as well as a team's home-versus-road performance history. For example, winning at Tennessee on a Saturday afternoon is one thing; beating the Vols under the lights at Neyland Stadium is something else entirely.

The Vols have some notable home games this season that should turn Neyland Stadium back up to a volume of 11, particularly with Georgia and Oklahoma coming to town in September and November, respectively.  The Bulldogs and Vols will face off on September 13 in what should be a crazy environment in Knoxville. 

We'll find out quickly if the 2025 Vols are up to the task of returning to the playoffs - and if Neyland can continue to convince those remaining skeptics that there are very few tougher venues in the sport right now.