Josh Heupel recaps loss at Florida, says ‘too many mistakes’ were costly
By Keith Farner
Published:
Josh Heupel and Tennessee fell at Florida on Saturday night, 38-14.
The Gators won their fifth straight, and 16th in 17 years in a series that has fallen off in divisional importance in recent years. For a while, Tennessee stayed in the game thanks to big plays from Hendon Hooker to Tiyon Evans and JaVonta Payton, with each scoring touchdowns of at least 47 yards.
Tennessee returns to action next week against Missouri.
Here’s some of what Heupel told the media after the game:
#Vols coach Josh Heupel: We just made too many mistakes to beat a program like this on the road. We need to get better. We’ve got work to do.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) September 26, 2021
#Vols coach Josh Heupel on the team’s dropped passes tonight: I didn’t see that coming based on the way we practiced this week. That was a surprise.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) September 26, 2021
#Vols HC Josh Heupel following Tennessee’s loss to Florida: Extremely disappointed. We competed and responded well in the first half and then we didn’t play smart football down the stretch. Weren’t good enough or smart enough competitors.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) September 26, 2021
Josh Heupel said they didn’t want to play Joe Milton tonight unless they had to.
Heupel said he liked what he saw from Hendon Hooker tonight. “A ton of positives.” Doesn’t know about Hooker’s health yet.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) September 26, 2021
Josh Heupel said before the half, with the clock, he wanted to stay up-tempo, and that was a bad decision by him. Said the refs spotted the ball quicker than he anticipated.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) September 26, 2021
Josh Heupel says Elijah Simmons got hit on the knee towards end of the game, is what he was told.
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 26, 2021
Josh Heupel: Really didn’t wanna play Joe in this game if we could. I thought Hendon played hard and competed.
On injuries: “I don’t know where we are at at this point”
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 26, 2021
Josh Heupel: Extemely dissapointing the way the 2nd half unfolded the way it did….Did not play smart football in the second half.
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 26, 2021
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
