Postgame Quotes: Vanderbilt 45, Vols 34

Nov. 27, 2016

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones

(Opening statement)
"We couldn't get off the field on third down, defensively. We didn't do a good job of playing the ball in the air. They made more plays at the end of the day, so I give them a lot of credit."

(On what Vanderbilt's defense did in the second half)
"They did the same thing. They just out-executed us. We had some big plays in the first half and weren't able to get them in the second half. I thought they were able to apply pressure. Josh Dobbs had to escape the pocket, but it was pretty much the same stuff we had seen in the first half."

(On Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur's game)
"He's gained a lot of confidence the last couple of weeks. They've done a good job of throwing the football. When they got down, I knew they would throw more. Our fundamentals and details were lacking."

(On reevaluating the defense)
"I will start when we get home tonight. I will see what we need to do to get better. I love our players. They are giving everything that they have."

(On the root of Tennessee's defensive struggles)
"I never want to use injuries as an excuse because football is a game of adversity. It's the next man in. When you're down three defensive tacklers and best linebacker, it's another opportunity for other individuals to step up. We gave up over 600 yards of offense and 42 points. That is unacceptable at Tennessee."

(On trying to keep the offense consistent in shootouts)
"It comes down to execution. In the second half, they out-executed us. We didn't do a good job of sustaining drives. We can't turn the ball over. We have to answer sudden change as well."

(On contemplating kicking a field goal late in the game)
"I did, but I just felt that we needed to be able to score, go for two and then go for an onside kick."

(On the mood of the locker room)
"Our goal never changes. We want to be 1-0 each week. A bowl game wasn't in our thought process. It was about Vanderbilt. It's a very disappointed locker room. You would expect that."

(On quarterback Joshua Dobbs' performance)
"I thought he did some good things. He got us out of some plays with his legs. Josh Malone did some very good things in the throwing game as well."

Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs

(On the offensive struggles in the second half)
"We just didn't score in the red zone. We were down in the red zone a several times and we missed a field goal, we settled for a field goal. Coming into the game we knew we had to score touchdowns in the red zone to be effective. We did a good job of that in the first half, but not the second half."

(On the pressure of feeling like you've got to score on every possession)
"We just embrace it. We try to take advantage of the opportunities that we have and we weren't able to do that tonight."

(On the team's mood at the conclusion of the regular season)
"It's upsetting any time we lose, so it definitely doesn't feel good. We still have another game so we'll have to regroup. It's going to test our leadership with our seniors to regroup and finish out our season strong in our final game."

(On Coach Jones' message to the team following the game)
"Just the same message I just echoed: that it's on our seniors, the leadership, that this is going to test our leadership. Obviously it sucks. We're going to have to be ready to play in our bowl game and it's going to test the leadership of this team."

(On how Tennessee can answer that test in a bowl game after seeing some opportunities slip by)
"The opportunities were there. We just didn't take advantage of them. It's upsetting."

(On his fumble late in the third quarter)
"I thought I was down, but it's on me for poor ball security. The ball came out and we just have to answer after that, but we weren't able to."

(On Vandy's defensive looks in the second half)
"We were progressing the ball in the second half, we just didn't score in the red zone."

(On losing four of its last seven after starting 5-0)
"We still feel like anytime we step on the field we're the better team. The opportunities are there, we just didn't capitalize."

(On feeling pressure to keep scoring ever time out)
"Pressure is just what you impose on yourself, so there's no pressure. You just have to go out and execute and we did that in between the 20s, progressing the ball. We just didn't finish in the red zone and that's on us, not capitalizing on the opportunities we had."

(On the final 4th down play)
"That was a gotta-have-it situation and we got Alvin (Kamara) the ball in space. I went through a progression and they did a good job of covering the downfield routes, so you get Alvin the ball in space and you always think he has a good chance of making a couple guys miss. We weren't able to convert and that's what hurt us."

(On the captains' message to the team)
"We just talked within the guys. Just keep our heads up, get back to work and finish this season strong."

Tennessee defensive lineman Derek Barnett

(On the loss to Vanderbilt)
"It's unacceptable. It's a tough loss. Right now we've just got to come together and get ready for our bowl game. But this is unacceptable and I'm embarrassed."

(On tying Reggie White's program sack record but failing to get the win)
"I play to win only. Records are great, but I don't play this game for records. I play the game to get victories with my teammates. That's why I play the game."

(On the frustrations of not living up to expectations)
"It's very frustrating. But like I said, we've got the bowl game. We can't dwell on this. It's the 24-hour rule. We've got to move on. Football is a humbling game so you've got to keep going. You can't dwell on it too long."

(On what's to blame for the defensive struggles)
"We can't blame it on injuries. We just didn't play good enough. They ran a lot of bootlegs and play action and we've just got to play better up front and get more pressure on the quarterback to help that. We didn't play good enough. We can't blame it on injuries. We've got 11 guys on the field on defense and they've got 11 guys on offense."

Tennessee defensive lineman Kendal Vickers

(On Tennessee's defensive struggles)
"It's embarrassing. We've got to do something to fix it. Like Derek said, we've got this bowl game coming up and we need to fix all our mistakes. It's embarrassing and we've got to fix it fast."

(On if Vanderbilt threw more than anticipated)
"A little bit. We thought they were going to come in and try to run the ball. They ran a lot of play-action pass, but we've just just got to execute and do what we have to do to get the quarterback down, stop the run, just do our jobs."

Tennessee offensive lineman Brett Kendrick

(On if they felt pressure to score every drive)
"Not really. That's what we are supposed to do on offense. We are really confident. Even when we were down by 11, we were confident. We have a lot of talent and should score every time."

(On not being able to pull ahead after being up by double-digits)
"It's frustrating, but we made a lot of mistakes. We turned the ball over. I had a penalty and we had a hold. You can't win football games if you commit turnovers and penalties."

(On the message moving forward)
"We have a bowl game left. We don't know which one, but we are going to prepare and win in the bowl game."

Tennessee wide receiver Josh Malone

(On the message moving forward)
"We have to get back to work, prepare for the bowl game, and go out the right way."

(On players having to step up for leadership)
"Everybody has to do a self-check. It's unacceptable. This isn't supposed to happen. Everybody has to step up and do a self-check. We have to come in tomorrow ready to work and get back on the grind. We have to get ready for our bowl opponent."

University of Tennessee Athletics