There was considerable hype heading into the matchup between No. 1 Alabama and No. 9 Tennessee a few weeks ago.

Many thought it to be a preview of the SEC Title Game in Atlanta — with the Crimson Tide being the odds-on favorite to win the SEC West, and the Vols looking like the team to beat in the East.

The contest didn’t prove to be very competitive — as Nick Saban’s team walked out of Knoxville with a comfortable 49-10 victory.

Tennessee was ravaged by injury, and plagued by inexperience. There were simply too many things going against UT on that Oct. 15 afternoon.

On Wednesday, head coach Butch Jones spoke about what his team could take away from the defeat.  There appears to be some positivity and perspective despite the loss:

“Until you get into the game, it was hard to duplicate [Alabama] in practice leading up to the game. We needed some guys to grow up in a hurry. We needed guys to execute, the experience was invaluable for many. I asked each player what did they learn from it, that’s what makes it valuable. It’s all about learning from those experiences so that when you get there again, you are better for it.”