Tennessee won't get the red carpet treatment Saturday on its first road game of the football season.

There won't be a warm reception awaiting the Vols, who play No. 3 Georgia in Athens, Ga.

That's OK with some of the Vols.

"I know I like playing on the road," offensive tackle Michael Munoz said, "just because when you get in the stadium and there are all those people that don't like you and are cheering against you, as a competitive player you feed off that and there's a certain energy that you get from that.

"I hope that the guys on the team respond that way because that could really play to our advantage."

Tennessee's last victory in Athens was in 1998 when it won, 22-3, on the way to a 13-0 season and national championship. The Vols, who have lost their last four against Georgia, are 0-2 in Athens since the '98 game.

In their last game at 92,746-seat Sanford Stadium, the Vols lost to the Bulldogs, 18-13, in 2002.

"Anytime you go on the road in the SEC you're going to come across great fans that don't really like you that much, and Georgia is no exception," Munoz said. "It's going to be loud. But it's going to be a lot of fun this weekend."

The Vols often simulate game-day noise during practices at Haslam Field.

How close is it to the noise you hear in Neyland Stadium or other places?

"They turn those speakers up so loud it hurts your ears, basically," offensive guard Rob Smith said.

Smith said he doesn't mind playing on the road, as long as they don't fly.

The Vols will go to Athens by bus, leaving Friday morning. They will have a walk-through at Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Ga., in the afternoon and spend the night between Atlanta and Athens.

After the game, the Vols will fly out of Athens airport for the quick trip to Knoxville.

Spending the night in the hotel isn't much of a change. On Friday nights before home games, the Vols stay in a hotel in Knoxville.

"It really doesn't matter to me, home or away," Smith said. "It's basically all the same. We're still eating out the night before, we still have to stay in the hotel. The only difference is the airplane flight. I don't like flying much, so it's more negative than positive. Personally I don't like flying. My ears always pop and stuff."

Last year, the Vols were 4-1 in regular-season road games. They beat Florida, Alabama, Miami (Fla.) and Kentucky on the road and lost at Auburn.

Miami was ranked No. 6 before the Vols' 10-6 victory. It snapped the Hurricanes' 26-game home winning streak.

"That was just a game where it showed our heart and it showed the courage of our team that we came out and were ready to play," Munoz said.

Not all the Vols find the road so rosy.

"It's definitely a disadvantage when you go into somebody else's house and you have to travel and everything," linebacker Omar Gaither said. "But I think we'll be OK. What it all comes down to is you still have to strap on the pads the same way.

"When you're on the road you have to be more focused. I think more players are more focused when you play on the road because you don't have the 12th man."

Linebacker Kevin Burnett likes the hostile fanfare.

"Everybody's against you. Nobody thinks you're going to win the game," Burnett said. "I love it."