Tennessee Football will have a checkerboard end zone in Duke’s Mayo Classic vs. NC State

Tennessee Football is going on the road but will still have its home end zone in the Duke’s Mayo Classic on Saturday against NC State. Pictures from the Duke’s Mayo Classic social media team show a checkerboard end zone being painted at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Kickoff between No. 14 Tennessee (1-0) and No. 24 NC State (1-0) is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The game will be televised by ABC, with Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit on the call and Holly Rowe as the sideline reporter. The game can also be streamed on the ESPN app.

The Vols and Wolfpack are playing for just the fourth time. It’s the first meeting since 2012, when Tennessee won 35-21 in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Vols opened the 2018 season at Bank of America Stadium

Tennessee is back in Charlotte after opening the 2018 season at Bank of America Stadium with a 40-14 loss to No. 17 West Virginia in the first game of the Jeremy Pruitt era.

The Vols are coming off a 69-3 win over Chattanooga on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. NC State opened last Thursday with a 38-21 win over Western Carolina, coming back from a 21-17 deficit in the third quarter.

“Really good opponent that we’re playing,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Monday. “They play all three phases of the game really well together. Defensively, they’ve been really good and it will be a great test for us up front and on the perimeter and at quarterback.

“Offensively, they’ve got a really experienced quarterback, got playmakers around him and the special teams are really good too. So a huge test for us this week. One that we’re excited about. Traveling a few hours down the road, look forward to seeing Vol Nation show up and it will be a great contest.”

Tennessee’s history with North Carolina State

Tennessee and North Carolina State’s football history dates back to 1911, but the two teams have played only three games. The Vols won the most recent matchup, 35-21 on August 31, 2012 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

N.C. State won the first meeting 16-0 at home in October 1911 and Tennessee won 13-0 in a return trip to Raleigh in September 1939.

Tennessee in 2012 jumped out to a 22-7 lead at the end of the first quarter after Cordarrelle Patterson caught a 41-yard touchdown on the game’s first possession, then ran for a 67-yard touchdown later in the quarter.

Tyler Bray completed 27 of 41 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns and Patterson starred in his debut after transferring from Hutchinson Community College, finishing the game with 165 total yards.

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