Tennessee’s postgame comments about Georgia

Following top-ranked Georgia’s 41-17 victory over Tennessee in Knoxville, Volunteer head coach Josh Heupel and a few of his players met with the media. Here's a summary of what they had to say after their loss to the Bulldogs.

…Heupel didn’t want to take anything from Georgia, repeatedly indicating how “good” the Bulldogs were. However, the Tennessee head coach admitted the Volunteers didn’t play their “best football.”

“They’re a good football team. They’re good defensively. They got really good personnel, and they play their scheme extremely well,” Heupel said of Georgia. “But there are things we got to do a better job of in certain situations, in particular.”

…Tennessee got off to a fast start. At the end of the first quarter, the Volunteers led 10-7, having a total yardage advantage of 159 to 84, before Georgia scored 34 consecutive points. According to Tennessee players, they realized entering the game the Bulldogs’ dominant defense could be vulnerable in certain situations.

“Absolutely,” replied junior receiver Cedric Tillman when asked if they saw on film where Tennessee could take advantage of Georgia’s defense. Catching 10 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown, Tillman became one of the few opposing players in Georgia history to have a 200-yard receiving outing against the Bulldogs. “I think one of the biggest things is a lot of people are scared of them (Georgia’s defense). Our offense, we weren’t scared at all. We wanted the test. There were some things we noticed—and we executed sometimes, but not all the time.”

…When asked about Tennessee “going toe to toe” with top-ranked Georgia for a quarter to a quarter and a half, senior receiver Velus Jones thought it boded well for the future of Volunteers football.

“They (Georgia) are a good football team, but we’re a good football team as well,” said Jones, who caught eight passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. “That just shows how close we are to putting the whole thing together.”

…But then what happened in the final three quarters? According to Heupel, Georgia took advantage of two Tennessee turnovers, whereas the Bulldogs did not turn the ball over the entire contest. Georgia was efficient in the red zone, while the Volunteers were not. And, although the Bulldogs allowed a season-high two sacks, they tallied six sacks themselves.

“They got us with the pressure. We just busted protection,” Heupel said. “We got the next drive going, but we air mail a ball and end up throwing a pick. We didn’t do the things we needed to, to make it a game down the stretch.”

…Although Georgia allowed 332 passing yards—the most yielded since Mississippi State passed for 336 yards against the Bulldogs last season—it allowed the Volunteers only 55 net rushing yards on 36 rushes (a lowly 1.5 yards per rush). Notably, Tennessee entered the game ranked 19th in the FBS with 217.1 rushing yards per game, while averaging an impressive 5.0 yards per carry.

“The toughest thing is their personnel,” Heupel said of Georgia’s defense. “Their front seven personnel is really good. They rotate guys in, and there’s no drop-off from one guy to the next guy coming in.”

…As far as Matthew Butler, a Tennessee defender who totaled three tackles and a sack—he seemingly wasn’t as impressed with Georgia. Soft-spoken and standoffish during questioning, the senior defensive tackle was asked if the Bulldogs were “worthy” of their top ranking.

“They’re a good team,” Butler simply said, regarding No. 1 Georgia.