Josh Heupel proudly declares that Neyland Stadium is the best stadium in college football, and knew the Vols’ fans helped Tennessee pull out a win over Texas A&M on Saturday.

It helped after Gary Danielson, the CBS analyst, earlier in the week, said Neyland is “just about the same” as other SEC stadiums. Heupel was aware of that, and made sure to make a point of the impact of the crowd after the game during a CBS Sports interview.

“You saw a great amount of heart from these guys, all day long,” Heupel said. “What an awesome atmosphere. This was a special performance. I think our fans played a part in the game, and I know our damn defense did. This defensive line wrecked shop all dang day.”

Heupe said his defense continues to grow, “from the time we’ve gotten here, Coach Banks, our defensive staff. Guys that have been here, Tyler Baron, stepping up. They were relentless, they played with great physicality all day long. Disrupted the run game, and man, made the quarterback’s (life) tough all day long.”