Josh Heupel looks back at loss at Georgia, previews Missouri

What Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday, looking back at the 27-13 loss to Georgia and looking ahead to the Vols hosting Missouri on Saturday (Noon Eastern Time; TV: CBS) on Senior Day at Neyland Stadium:

OPENING STATEMENT 

“Excited to get back to Neyland, see our fans this Saturday. Salute to Service game. Obviously we want to thank all the men and women that have made so many sacrifices to give us the opportunity to do the things that we do. It’s also Senior Day. Will be a great day to recognize those guys that have meant so much and poured so much into our program. Obviously for me, just thinking back to when I first got here, these guys have been a huge part of laying the foundation, helping our program build extremely quickly here over the last two years and building this program back to where it should be, which is competing at the highest level. Excited to celebrate that with those guys today.”

HIS ASSESSMENT OF THE FIRST PRACTICE FOLLOWING THE LOSS AT GEORGIA

“Energy in the building was good. Were the guys disappointed after the game? Yeah. If they weren’t, then we would have real issues. Had an opportunity, one, for them to go into position meetings and unit meetings and just see the landscape from the coaches’ perspective. They have a chance to watch it with them. Then as a team, too, watch how the game unfolded and things that we did that controlled the game and made it play differently. That’s the great thing about this sport. Man, you only get one opportunity. You play 10 times, it unfolds differently 10 times. For us, let’s go back and control what we control, which is how we prepare, practice and how we go play this Saturday. As a competitor, you’re only as good as your next one. You guys have heard me say that. True after a win, true after a loss. For us as a program, it’s time to get better.”

THE INABILITY TO GENERATE BIG PASS PLAYS AT GEORGIA

“We had a couple opportunities. Didn’t hit them at times. The other thing, too, you look at some of the things that we did to ourself. Eight pre-snap penalties. That makes the game a whole lot tougher. You lose some of the rhythm that we’re accustomed to playing with and want to play with. It changes the way the game unfolds. Third down, situational football. Had the ball on the plus-side of the 40 I think six times. There are things that they did. Certainly we didn’t protect and didn’t win sometimes on the outside. Hendon (Hooker) was a little bit off. You combine all those things together and it plays out the way that it did.”

Josh Heupel: Vols ‘will rebound’ after loss at No. 1 Georgia

HOW TO HANDLE THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CONVERSATION AND WINNING WITH STYLE POINTS

“There’s a whole month of football (left). There’s a lot of ball left to be played by everybody in the country. Up until this point, we’ve done a lot of things right. Obviously in that ball game a week ago. Credit to Georgia. We didn’t come out on the right side of the scoreboard. There’s nothing that we can control other than how we are, how we approach it, how we go play and compete. At the end of the day, it’s about trying to find a way to be the best team on the field during 60 minutes. That’s all we’re concerned about.”

GEORGIA WINNING ONE-ON-ONES, WHAT THEY SAW ON FILM

“There are a lot of things that everybody can do different. Me, our assistant coaches, our players too. There’s a lot of things that we didn’t handle well. And certainly things that are within our control. Things that we’ve done at a really high level throughout the course of the season, that we’ll get better at. We’ll have opportunities to improve upon those things and play a lot better football here down the stretch. Georgia is a good football team, too.”

GEORGIA WINNING THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, PRESSURE HENDON HOOKER

“They’re a high amount of pressure team. That was higher than what we had scouted, but not a whole lot higher than what we had anticipated going into the football game. There are a combination of things. Communication up front, losing some one-on-ones up front to not winning on the outside or Hendon not reading it right. It’s all of those things together that make that game play out the way that it did. Situational football is going to be critical against a good football team like they are. You look at some of the things we did before the snap that we’re certainly in control of. Changed the way third downs were played. Changed situational football. Again, we weren’t good on the plus side of the territory, had opportunities. But there’s nothing we can do about that. What we can do is correct it moving forward. This group, that’s who they are, that’s what they’re about. They’re competitors. If you don’t wipe the slate clean, whether you win or lose, you’re setting yourself up for failure and not getting ready to go play your best football. This group will rebound.”

WHAT MISSOURI DOES WELL ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL

“Yeah, just on the defensive side of the ball, statistically they’ve been really good against the run. Played tight pass coverage, too. They’re one of the top three or four scoring units out of our league defensively. They’ve played at a really high level and make you earn it. Offensively, have some weapons on the outside that are explosive and can create some big plays. We’ve got to do a great job of handling the line of scrimmage and applying pressure to the quarterback, too.”

THE EMOTIONS OF SENIOR DAY AND HANDLING IT AS A COACH

“You try to prepare them. It’s unique that you pause for five minutes before you go back in the tunnel. You get a chance to see your family, take it in one last time. Obviously our appreciation as a program, these fans too, to recognize those guys, what they’ve meant, what they’ve done inside of our program. When you run back in, then you have to reset and it’s got to be just about football for 60 minutes. A year ago, our guys handled that pretty well. It will be important that our guys do that here too. A lot of those guys will play a lot of football for us.”

Tennessee vs. Missouri, Saturday, Noon ET, CBS

HENDON HOOKER’S IMPACT THE LAST TWO YEARS, WHAT HE HAS MEANT TO THE PROGRAM

“I mean, just to put it into words is tough. He’s been such a leader, he’s been such a dynamic playmaker, he’s been so consistent in the building. He’s a huge part of the culture that we have from within the locker room. The ownership that we have from within it. I don’t think anybody inside of our program, players, coaches or fans, would ever take anything for granted. He’s had a huge impact. Excited for him to get back out there, play one more time in Neyland. But we’ve got a lot of football ahead of us and (will) continue to compete down the home stretch with him.”

IF THERE’S TRUTH TO BEING ABLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT A TEAM AFTER A LOSS THAN AFTER A WIN

“I think you learn a lot about your football team no matter what the circumstance. How they reset and go to the next one. From the first day that I’ve gotten here to today, we’ve learned a lot about our football team. They continue to prove to themselves, and to us, that they’re fierce competitors. That they’re able to handle adversity and reset and move on and get better and grow. That they accept things and try to improve upon those things. So this group, I don’t know if learning something about them is what I’m thinking about this week, as much as I believe in who they are in their DNA and look forward to seeing that unfold this week. If that makes sense.”

THE KEY TO LONGTERM SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN A PROGRAM

“You stay true to the values that have gotten you here. The cornerstone pieces of who each individual has to be in the building, who we are collectively going to be. Continue to build connection and culture from within the building. You have the ability to develop the guys that are inside your program and continue to recruit at a really high level. If you put all those pieces together, you’re going to continue to get better as a program. No doubt in my mind that we’re in the beginning stages of what this program is going to be.”