"We don't expect the fans, the crowd noise to affect the way we do things."

The Tigers will prepare with pumped-in crowd noise at practice, as they do for most big road games, and rely on the poise of a veteran, experienced offensive line. Winning this week is a difficult task, but an entirely necessary one to reach the goals this team has set for itself.

"We expect to win," senior right tackle Landon Walker said. "We don't expect the fans, the crowd noise to affect the way we do things. We expect to be prepared and we're going to handle it. A mature team, a championship team can do that. A championship team can take good things they do at home, win at Virginia Tech, and win wherever they play. You've got to do that. Because if you can't win on the road, at Virginia Tech, in my mind, you don't deserve to be there."