It was against Akron! The worst team on their schedule. Nonetheless, Tennessee football managed to secure a sellout Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.

There’s already another sellout next week when the Florida Gators come to town, but selling out against Akron is honestly a bigger story. It’s a reminder of the glory days on Rocky Top.

Josh Heupel is trying to build the Vols back to that point, but they obviously aren’t there yet. As a result, this is his first taste of what Tennessee football fans can be like when there’s hope.

“This fan base is as good as it gets,” Heupel said Saturday night after the Vols beat the Zips 63-6. “They are caring. They are passionate.”

To put this Akron game in perspective, the 2018 Florida game was the last time in the Jeremy Pruitt era Tennessee football had over 100,000 in attendance. They didn’t hit that again until 2021 against the Ole Miss Rebels.

Now, you can somewhat excuse that because of what happened with COVID in 2020. However, what about 2019 and the rest of 2018? It’s simple. There just wasn’t much hope.

With just a taste of hope, a 2-0 start and a top 20 ranking in both polls, the Vols were able to sell out against a MAC team. Heupel specifically touted the fans’ energy, optimism and belief.

“Our entire program can feel that on the outside, too,” he said. “I have never been a part of anything like (Saturday night).”

For Heupel, the energy was immediate. He pointed out the Vol Walk and noted that it was the best Vol Walk he had been a part of to this point.

“(We) get on the Vol Walk, and they’re all sitting at the bottom of the hill, but then (the crowd is) going back up the hill,” he said. “It’s special. We felt it.”

Before Heupel arrived, Tennessee football’s last sellout was in 2017 against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Vols donned the Smokey Greys and Checkered Neyland for that game as well. They lost 41-0.

That was the beginning of a massive collapse in Butch Jones’ final season. Of course, then came the fan revolt to nix the Greg Schiano hire and the coup that led Phillip Fulmer becoming athletic director.

Although fans were proud and energetic about the revolt, there’s no denying that Pruitt wasn’t a splash hire. Nobody knew how disastrous he’d be, but he didn’t generate headlines either.

Then, in 2018, the Vols were downright bad. It wasn’t Pruitt’s fault, but they lost six of seven games by at least 25 points. That fueled more fan apathy.

Although there was an energetic finish to 2019, as the Vols won seven of their final eight games and their final six in a row, they started 0-2 with upset losses at home to the Georgia State Panthers and BYU Cougars.

That fueled a 1-4 start, which was obviously going to generate fan apathy down the stretch. By the time they had rebounded, it was too late.

COVID then hit along with the disastrous 2020 season, which only further fueled fan apathy. However, Vol fans showed last year they’ll come back with just a little bit of hope.

Despite a 2-2 start, Tennessee football arrived in a big way with blowout wins over the Missouri Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks. They then brought back Checker Neyland, and that’s when the Ole Miss sellout happened.

Now, excitement and morale are back, and everybody on Rocky Top can feel it. Heupel and his team was able to feel it for an Akron game.

“The energy, the noise, all a huge part of the football game in the very beginning,” he said. “A lot of fun to play in front of our fans, man, for our staff and our players. We all appreciate what they did.”

If it was that for Akron, imagine what it’ll be next week for Florida with the prospect of starting 4-0 and Checker Neyland coming back. You won’t have a community feeling better anywhere in the country than Tennessee football.

For those who follow the sport as a whole, the pageantry and hardcore fandom is what makes it unique. When it comes to the Vols, they just need a little hope to play a huge role in that.

“College football is as good as it gets,” Heupel said. “And this fanbase is as good as it gets.”