Alright, folks, let’s talk about the No. 7 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, led by Josh Heupel, and their upcoming playoff showdown against Ohio State. They’re headed to Columbus on December 21st to face the Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. And of course, the big question everyone’s throwing around is whether Tennessee can hang with the cold. You know the drill—people keep hyping this ongoing myth that the Vols can’t handle Ohio’s freezing temps, like the cold’s gonna ice out their playoff fate. Buckeyes fans are all in on that edge. But Paul Finebaum? Nah, he ain’t buying that noise. Not for a second.

On December 11th, grumpy college football analyst Paul Finebaum went live with big-time Tennessee insider John Adams from the Knoxville News Sentinel and wasted no time shutting down the cold-weather myth. Finebaum wasn’t having it. He straight-up went on stating his time down in Tennessee: “I haven’t lived in Tennessee in a long time, but I don’t remember……cold December nights in Knoxville. Is that really going to be a factor, do you think?” Mic drop. In simple terms, Finebaum basically told everyone to quit whining and toughen up.

Then, John Adams, the Vols whisperer himself, wasn’t having any of that cold-weather drama. He shut it down quicker than a pick-six at crunch time. “I don’t think it would be,” Adams said, just laying it out there. “I mean, it would be for me….don’t like cold weather..Louisiana boy at heart…don’t like it below 80 degrees, so it gets frigid here in Knoxville to me. But if I know I’ve got to spend a night in Columbus or Knoxville, I don’t see…difference.” And just like that, Adams threw the cold-weather excuse straight into the trash. The man’s seen Knoxville winters, lived through them, and he’s basically saying, “Chill out, it’s not Siberia.”

Alright, let’s not act like the weather doesn’t matter at all. It’s not every day the Vols are out there in these frozen Elsa vibes. Sure, they’ve had their share of chilly games, like that 2015 win over Missouri—it was a crisp 19 degrees, not exactly beach weather. But Ohio? Whole different beast. Buckeyes fans still flex about the 1950 Snow Bowl against Michigan like it’s a badge of honor. These guys practically have PhDs in snowball warfare. That said, let’s keep it real—it’s not like we’re talking Ice Bowl levels of frostbite. Yeah, it might feel like a slap in the face for Tennessee, but it ain’t that deep. Time to drop the weather talk and focus on the real action.

Do the Buckeyes really have a winter advantage over Josh Heupel’s Vols?

Look, we won’t really know how much the cold matters until the game actually kicks off. Sure, on paper, Ohio State has the so-called weather advantage. But let’s be real—Ryan Day and Josh Heupel aren’t out here worried about getting palms getting cold or anything. They know this game’s all about execution in the face of adversity. Josh Heupel wasn’t sweating the weather talk either. “Know it won’t be sunny and 85,” Heupel joked, brushing it off.

Josh even pointed out the Vols already have some experience in the chill. “We played in 30-degree weather a week ago.” And then he hit the point home: “That’s weather, it’s outside distractions… It’s us getting ready to go be our best 11 on 11 between the white lines.” Safe to say, a little cold ain’t gonna make Josh Heupel and his Volunteers sweat like they say.

Even Ryan Day, the guy who melts down after every Michigan loss, is genuinely excited about this showdown, as he said, “We’re fired up.. We’re obviously excited about playing the first-ever playoff game in Ohio Stadium.” Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a loss. They still have that mental block. Their squad looked rusty against the Wolverines. If Ryan Day and his Buckeyes show a single ounce of hangover in defense, they are gonna get cooked by Nico Iamaleava and his backfield. The stakes are higher. A loss for Ohio State would have Ryan Day on the hot seat, too. And who knows, they might be his last game as head coach for the Buckeyes. The fans literally got fed up with this drama.

Look, it all comes down to mentality. Sure, the Vols might not be used to ice-cold tempo. But sleeping on them is peak ignorance. Let’s be real for now. This is college football, and when the playoff lights come on, nobody’s backing down because of a lil cold air. The myth that the weather will freeze out in Tennessee? Yeah, that’s already a shut-down case now.