Social Media Reacts to College Football Players Warming Up Shirtless in 25-Degree Weather

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated Dec 21, 2024 8:02 PM ET

Ahead of Tennessee's first-round College Football Playoff matchup against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, the Volunteers turned heads by warming up shirtless when the temperature was just 25 degrees.

Several Tennessee players were shown before the broadcast running out on the field together without shirts and doing various exercises in front of cameras.

The No. 9 Volunteers (10-2) are 7.5-point underdogs. Their two losses coming against Georgia and Arkansas this season.

The winner of the game will meet the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl on January 1. The No. 8 Buckeyes are hoping for a win in the CFP first round to avenge one of their two losses this year. Ohio State lost to Oregon, 32-31, in October.

It's 25 degrees in Columbus, Ohio

THE VOLS DO NOT CARE @Vol_Football pic.twitter.com/PCdvIsAmhP
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 22, 2024

Fans took to social media to tease and joke about the Volunteers' pregame routine.

"It's 35 degrees in Knoxville right now @ 7:04 PM. It gets cold there, too. The Vols will handle the temps just fine," said one fan.

"Hearing reports that they put their shirts on after about 3 minutes. Can you confirm?" replied another.

"teams that are about to get blown out do stuff like this," commented a fan.

"All this hype just to lose ," one fan teased.

"Let's see if they play like the cold don't matter," stated another fan.

Tennessee boasts one of the best rushing offenses in college football, averaging 232 rushing yards per game, which is the ninth-best. They also score 37.3 points (8th-best) and allow 13.9 points per game (tied-fourth).

Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava leads the Volunteers. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound signal-caller was the No. 2 recruit in the 2023 class, per 247Sports.

He has 2,512 passing yards on the season with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Volunteers have played the Buckeyes only once in their history. It was in the 1996 Citrus Bowl, a 20-14 victory for Tennessee.

The contest featured Ohio State running back Eddie George, the Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, who would finish as a runner-up to Michigan's Charles Woodson for the 1997 Heisman Trophy.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: