Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is excited to have another shot at playing Georgia. Heupel has helped turn the Tennessee program around, but the Volunteers still have ground to make up if they want to be a College Football Playoff contender.
Tennessee is coming off a 36-7 loss on the road to Missouri. The Volunteers played one of their worst games of the season against the Tigers. No. 19 Tennessee will have a shot at redemption at 3:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 18 against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs.
What did Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel say about Georgia and the Volunteers ahead of the Georgia-Tennessee game?
Heupel on Tennessee's tough loss to Missouri
Nobody was expecting Missouri to beat Tennessee so badly. The Volunteers had not lost by over 28 points in a long time.
Guys came in this morning, and you could see the disappointment on their face still. There is an opportunity to learn from it as we watch the tape.
Heupel is looking for better execution on the offense. Tennessee had nine penalties for 95 yards and three turnovers against Missouri.
We have to play smarter football, in particular on the offensive side of the football. You look at the drives, most of them ended with a major penalty that puts you in second and extra-long or first and extra-long, and the turnovers on the plus side of the territory as well.
Heupel on playing against Georgia
Heupel has a lot of respect for Georgia, which has won back-to-back national championships. Don’t forget Tennessee was the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings when it played at Georgia last season. The Volunteers are having a very different season this year.
We have a great opponent coming to town this week. You look at Georgia, they play extremely well — smart football, physical football in all three phases of the game. They have dynamic playmakers in all three phases of the game as well. So, it is a huge test for us, and we have to have a great week of preparation
Injury update on Dont'e Thornton
Tennessee wide receiver Dont’e Thornton will be out for the remainder of the regular season. Thornton has 17 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown this season.
Dont’e will be out for the remainder of the regular season. We’ll see where we’re at as we get into postseason play. Young guys, there were some real positive things that they did during the course of the game. Chas Nimrod, Kaleb Webb, all in all, I liked a majority of what they did.
On Georgia's defense
Georgia has the No. 6 scoring defense in the country. The Bulldogs are allowing 15.6 points per game.
They have really good players across the board. Defensively, thick, strong and athletic up front. They can run. They cover extremely well on the back end. They don’t miss tackles. You see them in close quarters and in open space, they tackle extremely well.
On UGA's offense
Georgia’s offense converts 55.6% of third-down attempts, which is No. 1 in the country. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has been efficient getting the ball to playmakers all year. The Georgia offensive line is playing great and is a big reason the Dawgs average over 40 points per game.
Offensively, they’ve got dynamic playmakers. A few of those guys are just getting back and getting truly healthy right now, but the quarterback is playing extremely well. Really efficient, been accurate. He’s done a really nice job.
On Tennessee returning home
The Tennessee Volunteers have won 14 straight home games. Tennessee’s last home loss came to Georgia in 2021. The Volunteers are a different team at home and will look to get a boost from their fans against Georgia.
It’s the first time we have been back home for an SEC game inside Neyland Stadium in over a month. Looking forward to our fans, seeing them there on Saturday. We need a great atmosphere.
On Dolly Parton being in attendance
I can’t wait to cheer on @Vol_Football this Saturday! See you on Rocky Top 🧡 #GBO pic.twitter.com/ceSGTh01do
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) November 13, 2023
Beloved musician Dolly Parton is planning to attend the Georgia-Tennessee game to the delight of many Tennessee (and Georgia) fans.
Anytime Dolly’s hanging around it certainly adds pressure, absolutely, to our performance. For Tennesseans, that’s one that everybody will enjoy seeing.
Heupel adds that his mom is excited to see Parton in Knoxville.
Dolly (Parton) is going to be there as well, so my mom will be excited about that one.
On Tennessee's struggles on third down against Missouri
Missouri converted 11 of 17 third-down attempts against Tennessee and racked up over 250 passing and rushing yards. Missouri, like Georgia, has a balanced offense and gave the Tennessee defense trouble.
Inability to get off the field, part of that was the quarterback extending and making plays with his feet, running, also scrambling and getting outside of the pocket. For us, you have to do a good job of applying pressure to him, too. You can’t let him sit back there all day.
