Everything Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the win over Alabama

The No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers defeated the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide 21-17 in the annual “Third Saturday in October” rivalry game. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the media after earning his second win in this matchup in four seasons.

Opening speech

“College football is as good as it gets on the third Saturday in October. Neyland effect. Our fans, elite. Elite performance from them all evening. I appreciate them helping us on the offensive side of the ball when we were struggling. What? a performance?

“Defensively, just absolute top performance. Line of scrimmage, controlling the quarterback, everything you had to do before it started. Did an incredible job on third down.”

“Offensively, not good at the start, not far away. Man, it all has to come together. We have to be able to play football and keep improving. I love a lot of what I saw in the second half.”

“Special teams had a solid performance at the end, we need to get better at some things early on, but. I said it was another prizefight, you have to answer the bell. These guys answered the bell every single round. We're going to fight with these guys every day. Another great evening on Rocky Top, so we're open to questions.

What do you think about the offensive battles and what is it like to win when they happen?

“Listen, wins are wins in this league. In this league the gaps are tight every Saturday. You have to stand on the right side of the scoreboard. You have to be the best team on the field. That’s our goal.” Our goal is also to become the best we can offensively. We have to settle in on the football field a little earlier, we have to do the blocking part of it. On the first drive we are back in positive territory. That wasn't the case quite early on. 102,000 saw it, everyone on TV, us too. That’s why you have to appreciate it when things are going really well and you have to be on the right side. As a competitor, we have to find a way to start faster and get better.”

What have you learned about Nico after coming back from a big hit?

“Young quarterback who will keep getting better. The people around him have to help him too, and that means just doing their job at a really high level. For me, quarterbacks, it's toughness, it's mental toughness when it counts. How do you perform and how do you control the game? And there's a lot of things, just physical and mental strength, that we really liked tonight and so did he and we're going to keep pushing for that.”

How is your team’s resilience?

“Nobody blinks at half-time, they have fighting spirit. Understand that we have to make some adjustments, we have to implement everything, we have to do our job. But in the locker room,” you talk about people believing in each other and trusting each other and continuing to play for each other. On the other side of the ball, it's the culture you want to have within your locker room that's truly special.

How fitting would it be for Alabama native Will Brooks to make this interception?

“Yes, you’re talking about a journeyman and how he comes out on the other side. A man who continues to invest every day and you reap the rewards. This will be a moment in his life and I'm sure he will.” Tell this story to all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and anyone who can listen to it as he grows older. What a special player, but really what a special young man… I was on the Ipad preparing for the next attack ball if necessary. Boy, do I like getting on my knees at the end of the game though.

How is your offensive line?

“Initially I felt like they were playing on the edges and putting a little bit of pressure on. You misidentified one of your protections. Nico crawls around at the back end. Some guys that are going to be open in the back end of the secondary. “The running game wasn't good to start with, but the resilience in the second half, physically, I'll definitely carry that over.”

Did you think you could hold an Alabama running game to 75 yards?

“This group believes it’s really good. When they play with 11 players and play physically, they have a chance to be really special. They played really well tonight. This team has a lot of self-confidence. They also know that we have this. “I have to improve, but at the end of a Saturday night they can be happy with a win, which I think is really important in the landscape of college football. I never talked about it here, because At the end of the day, no one cares, they care what the scoreboard looks like every week, but there were obstacles that we had to deal with and overcome as a program. This coaching staff, the administration and the players did it in a very special way, not perfect, but in a very special way. As a program we need to improve this year, but I feel like we're just getting started as a program.

What did Tim Banks build?

“I thought we had a chance to form a really cohesive unit, 11 players tied together and able to play all three levels of defense together. The depth at the top would give us the chance to be good on the attack line.” . How some of the young people in the background would grow and develop would be crucial. I was just talking about some of the obstacles when we got here, plan to continue to grow the young men over there. A special, special achievement, man. This is an elite defensive performance.

How do you feel about the players who beat Alabama twice and the young players who got their first win?

“First of all, all of our former players, Darnell Wright, Alontae Taylor, so many guys that came back tonight to be a part of it. AK. AK (Alvin Kamara) I almost forgot, AK. They helped build this.” I appreciate and love it and give something back. You see what it means that it's the second time when we step on the pitch we feel like we can win every Saturday. Yes, you know what it means to the fan base. What it also means within our walls is that we're on the right side defensively tonight. Special teams, enough. We won in two unique ways, the last two times here at Neyland, which I think I will remember for a long time. There’s nothing better than walking away with the crowd around you and a cigar in your mouth.”

How does it feel to beat two of Tennessee's two historic rivals and how much joy does that bring?

“It's a joy to be on the right side of the scoreboard every Saturday. Historically there are two big games, our fan base, what that means to them. Do you know what i mean? They're big games for our players because they're league games, man. “Understand what it means and what you want to achieve and what you've been working for since January. It's really special because it took finding a way to be on the right side of the scoreboard with all the ups and downs, I just continue to be proud of the guys.

How crucial was the interception in the end zone in the first half?

“Huge play within the game. Changes the way the game is played there based solely on score. You have to do something with it offensively. Third-down defense, red zone defense. Special, special performance. Offensively, we can't get hurt when we're in the red zone. We can't always do that either. We found a good way to do none of that at the start of the game.”

How important is Jermod McCoy to what you want to do?

Jermod, Rickey, Jalen when he's there, like it changes what you can do structurally on defense. It changes the game for the coordinator. It gives you the opportunity to open your playbook.

How much do you talk about the expanded playoffs?

“Our guys are aware of it. I wish I could put blinders on them. It's about being in the present, competing as hard as possible every day to grow and play to what they are capable of and what the unit is capable of. There are still things on defense, there are a lot more things on offense that we need to sort out, get better and this team needs to continue to improve. If they can do that, they will have a chance to be a good team.

What got Dylan Sampson going?

“It embodies him as a competitor – cough – It's the cigar, sure. He is something special. His feel, his ability to run, move in space, get behind his pads. We blocked a little bit cleaner in the second half, which gave him an opportunity to start and also produced some resiliency plays, gets a little loopy, fumbles early, just comes back and keeps going tonight.

Is the running game in the second half an adjustment or an exhaustion?

“Some adjustments at halftime. Some just right in the execution and then when you get going, the ability to physically move people, you know what I mean, over the course of the game. So a combination of everything. It is possible to be much better at the beginning.”