Heupel shuns CFP talk, bullish on Vols after loss

• Chris Low, ESPN Elder WriterNov 17, 2024, 02:39 AM ET

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  • College football press reporter
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of the University of Tennessee

ATHENS, Ga.– On a night that bit went right for Tennessee after its fast first-quarter start, the clincher may have come afterward in the bowels of Sanford Arena throughout coach Josh Heupel’s postgame news conference.With the 31-17 loss to Georgia still gnawing at everybody in orange– Tennessee’s eighth straight problem to the Bulldogs and a glancing blow to the Vols’ College Football Playoff hopes– Heupel was twice hushed Saturday night while attempting to address concerns when a mobile phone ringtone began roaring the Georgia” Battle Hymn” simply outside the interview area.Heupel desired no part of any playoff talk, but was as bullish as

ever about the quality of his football team. “Male, I have no concept, “Heupel stated when asked where the Vols stood in the playoff chase.”All I know is this league, in college football, is as good as it gets. It is. Teams get beat on the road sometimes. It’s hard to win, guy, in this league. That’s a good football team that we simply played that lost a couple of close ones on the roadway against great football teams and had turnovers in those games.” It’s an excellent football group. We’re an excellent football team, too.”Editor’s Picks 2 Related The Vols(8-2, 6-2)joined Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss as SEC groups with 2 conference losses. Texas and Texas

A&M each have just one loss, and the teams at the top have actually all beaten each other. Alabama beat Georgia. Tennessee beat Alabama. Georgia beat Tennessee, Ole Miss beat Georgia, which beat Texas. In recently’s CFP rankings, Tennessee was No. 7 and Georgia No. 12, suggesting the Bulldogs would have been out of the playoff.”Certainly, we knew what was at stake,”Tennessee defensive take on Jaxson Moi. “Certainly, we treat it like another game, however we had that [

playoff implications] in the back of our minds. However we’re carrying on. This is the past. There’s absolutely nothing you might change now, so we’re simply trying to focus on what’s next and manage the controllables. “The Vols jumped to a 10-0 lead in the very first quarter, but Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and the Bulldogs’offensive line took control of after that against a Tennessee defense that had not given up more than 19 points in a game all season.There were also a minimum of two penalties that broke Tennessee in the 2nd half that altered the complexion of the game, one a 15-yard face mask charge versus cornerback Rickey Gibson III on a second-and-24 play, causing Georgia’s go-ahead goal. The 2nd came in the fourth quarter when the Vols were hit with an unlawful participation charge after authorities ruled Moi didn’t get off the field in time. Two plays later on, Georgia proceeded 31-17. Heupel was clearly steamed about both calls and cut off a press reporter who asked about the Georgia drive where the face mask charge was called. “Yeah, on the second-and-24? “Heupel asked tersely.Asked how essential those 2 calls were in

turning the game, Heupel responded, “Pretty big.”A couple of minutes later on, a reporter pointed out the replay on the face mask, and Heupel stated,”What did it appear like?” Informed that it appeared that the

back of the helmet popped off and there wasn’t a hand on the face mask, Heupel turned the microphone toward the reporter and said,” Can you repeat that?”Heupel stated “next concern”

when asked if authorities provided him a description. A Tennessee media relations official asked if there were any other concerns for Heupel, and he took a look at a press reporter and stated,”

Do you want to inquire about the 12-men-on-the-field penalty?” When the press reporter said he would, Heupel once again turned the microphone in his direction and stated,”What did it appear like?”At that point, Tennessee media relations authorities ended the news conference.Heupel stated this team has actually been too good and too invested this season to permit this loss to stick around. The Vols have UTEP next week at home and after that end the routine season on the roadway against Vanderbilt.”

We did a lot of the best things in the lead-up to the game tonight, “Heupel stated.

“However it’s what happens out on that field that specifies tonight. It’s the reality of it, and it’s the nature of being a rival. Where do we go from here? Guy, let it soak in, let it injure, watch it, grow from it, get our next

opportunity. You know what I mean? We have actually got 2 more guaranteed, but the just one that matters is next week, and so this group will continue to grow. “We do not manage what we don’t manage. We control our preparation. We can manage how we get ourselves all set to go play next Saturday. We’ve got a great football team in that locker room, male. It’s a good football team. We have actually got to coach a little better, got to play a little better.”Quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who played in the game after being cleared from concussion protocol throughout the week, included:”There’s a great deal of disappointment, a great deal of anger. We put a great deal of work in to come out with a win in this game, and yeah, we lost, didn’t play clever in the second half and it’s going to sting. We have actually

got to let it sting and simply gain from this.”