Vols Looking to Compete Smarter Against Tennessee Tech

(utsports.com) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee football team was back at work on Monday in preparation for in-state foe Tennessee Tech, who will make the short trip east from Cookeville to take on the Vols at noon ET this Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

After having a chance to review the film from last Saturday’s narrow loss to Pittsburgh, head coach Josh Heupel was steadfast in his praise in regard to the team’s effort against the Panthers but said the Vols need to apply that effort in a smarter way going forward.

“Obviously, we’ve got to be a lot smarter in the way that we compete; that showed up in particular on offense, at times on defense,” Heupel said in his Monday availability. “I told the players today, the great thing about it is you go back and watch the tape—we finished with the team meeting before we went on the field today—after they got a chance to watch it, those are all controllable by us.

“We can be a smarter football team. Our process of how we lead up to kickoff needs to be and can be cleaner too. Those things have a bearing on how you play. I think everybody went out on the field today with great energy and excited about the next opportunity.”

Heupel and his players expressed that they are eager to get back to work. The loss is fuel moving forward and the players are confident they will learn and translate it to future success.

“I think we’re going to respond better that we have since I’ve been here,” sophomore defensive linemen Tyler Baron said. “I’ll stand by that. We are a totally different team than we were after any loss last year. I know we are going to respond well.”

Saturday’s contest against the Golden Eagles will be streamed live on SEC Network+ and ESPN+. You can access SEC Network+ and ESPN+ through espn.com, then go to the watch tab. Fans can also view the game through the ESPN app. Fans must have a valid ESPN+ subscription to have access.