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Video: Sanders on the defense, the Virginia loss, Clemson and more

Video: Sanders on the defense, the Virginia loss, Clemson and more

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel talks Vols’ loss to Virginia

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel met with the media following Tennessee's 34-24 loss to Virginia to discuss the game.

The Vols (2-1) lost to the Cavaliers (2-1) on Saturday at Neyland Stadium, marking Tennessee's first loss of the 2022 season.

Heupel discussed the defense's performance and the Virginia loss. He also previewed the Vols' upcoming game against No. 11 Florida.

Key quotes from Heupel's press conference

• “I thought we missed some opportunities early in the game to be able to create some more explosive plays,” Heupel said. “We got to be better at finishing drives.”
• “I think there's a lot of things that we can coach better. I think there's a lot of things that we as players can execute better. And so it starts with me,” Heupel said. “I got to do a better job of putting them in position to be successful.”
• “We're going to learn a lot from this. We're going to grow from this. We're going to be a better football team for it,” Heupel said.

Heupel on the defense

Tennessee's defense allowed 490 yards of total offense to Virginia.

Heupel said the defense needs to be better at tackling and getting off the field on third down.

“We got to be better at tackling, we got to be better at getting off the field on third down,” Heupel said.

Heupel on the Virginia loss

Heupel said he was disappointed with the loss.

He said the team needs to learn from its mistakes.

“I'm disappointed in the outcome of the game. I thought we had a good week of preparation,” Heupel said. “We got to learn from our mistakes, we got to get back to work, and we got to get ready for Florida.”

Heupel on the upcoming game against No. 11 Florida

Tennessee will host No. 11 Florida (2-1) on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Heupel said the Vols will need to be ready to play their best game of the season.

“We got to be ready to play our best game of the season,” Heupel said. “Florida's a really good football team. They're well-coached, they got great players. We got to be ready to go.”