Skip to main content

Josh Heupel describes Tennessee's sharpness after bye week

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh10/12/23

griffin_mcveigh

Tennessee HC Josh Heupel
Kim Klement Neitzel | USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee is fresh off their bye week, sitting with a 4-1 record. Josh Heupel is hoping his team is fresh as they prepare to battle through the final seven games of the regular season. First up on the schedule is going to be a quality Texas A&M team, with the two scheduled to face off in Neyland Stadium.

Not surprisingly, Heupel believes the bye week came at a perfect time for Tennessee. Getting back healthy and reloading is always important to a team, especially after playing a couple of SEC teams. Heupel got some family time with the time off too, making for a good overall break.

One of the focuses coming out is making sure the players are still focused and looking sharp. Lucky for Vols fans, Heupel is not too worried. He is happy with how practice has gone this week moving into the Texas A&M game.

“Practice has been really good,” Heupel said. “They’ve been really locked in. They’re excited about this one. They understand the type of opponent that we’re playing. So, preparation has been really good.”

On the other side, Texas A&M is coming off the opposite of a bye. They just went toe to toe with Alabama for four quarters but came up just short. Head coach Jimbo Fisher was criticized for some of his decision-making but has moved on to the next week.

Now, a tough road trip to Knoxville will prove to be another challenge.

Tennessee hoping to continue positive momentum following bye

Losing to Florida was likely not part of the plan for Heupel. Dropping the SEC opener is never a positive but an SEC East rival stings a little bit more. Thankfully, there were still seven conference games to play at that point and momentum has been restored for the Vols.

Before the bye week, there was some revenge to take care of, beating South Carolina after last season’s heartbreaking loss. Neyland Stadium was up for the occasion too, with Tennessee winning by three touchdowns. A decent nonconference win against UTSA was squeezed in there as well, giving the Volunteers a two-game winning streak.

Even with the loss, Tennessee still finds itself in the middle of the SEC East race. Getting a win against Texas A&M would be a huge step forward, even if they are a team in the West. Keeping pace with Georiga is the main objective before the play in late November.