One of the most historic weekends in the history of Tennessee Vols football has every UT fan walking into work or school Monday feeling pretty great. Obviously, that was such a huge game, that plenty of news from it is worth covering into Monday.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with postgame coverage of the event, including quotes from coaches and players. We also have updates on rankings and news of a fine received by the university because of the celebration in the end.
Football wasn’t the only story over the weekend, though Soccer, volleyball and swimming and diving all had events, and women’s golf has an event set to begin today, so we’ll touch on all of those. Let’s start, though, with all the football coverage.
Josh Heupel recaps win vs. Alabama – Matt Ray, SI.com
Following the Tennessee Vols football team’s 52-49 over the Alabama Crimson Tide, Josh Heupel met with the media Saturday night. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“It was a great night. Man, I think it just speaks to the mentality, the growth and the progress of the individuals inside of our locker room and collectively as a team. It speaks to our coaching staff, Coach (Alex) Golesh, Coach (Tim) Banks, Coach (Mike) Ekeler, our coordinators, and every assistant coach, our young coaches too, just the growth inside of our program from the time that we got here.”"
Four players recap Alabama win – Eric Cain, VolQuest
Along with Josh Heupel, four Tennessee football players discussed the win over Bama, including Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Chase McGrath and Trevon Flowers. Hooker discussed the magnitude of the win. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“We approach every game the same. It’s just another day at the office, and that’s how we approached it today. We’re just determined to go out there and execute plays and play 100 percent for my brothers to my left and my right.”"
Hyatt, who had six catches for over 200 yards and five touchdowns, discussed the reason for his success. This is his explanation.
"“It was a lot of things. The looks they were giving us—me and (Hendon)—were on the right page as far as what we were looking at, and him trusting in me. I’m just blessed. This is what we needed.”"
McGrath, who hit the game-winning field goal, talked about coming back to do that after missing his first extra point. Here’s how he described it.
"“That’s something that really has never happened to me, but just wipe it and on to the next kick. I knew there was going to be another opportunity later on in the game, so I just really tried to move on from that and focus up on the next opportunity.”"
Flowers discussed anchoring the secondary with so many players hurt. This is what he said on that front.
"“That’s just something we’ve prided ourselves on since the offseason. The next-man-up mentality. No matter what we practice hard, we train hard, we love each other so no matter who’s out there we have to go out there and execute.”"
Football moves up in both polls – Patrick Brown, GoVols247
For the first time since 2005, the Tennessee Vols football team is in the top five of both polls. UT is also receiving first-place votes in the AP Poll.
"Tennessee’s rise up college football’s rankings continued after the thrilling 52-49 win against Alabama on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The 6-0 Vols climbed four spots to No. 4 in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and moved up three spots to No. 3 in the Associated Press Poll when both new sets of rankings were released on Sunday."
SEC fines UT for storming the field – SECSports
The Southeastern Conference announced that UT will be fined $100,000 for storming the field and tearing down the goal posts after their win over Alabama Saturday. This is the second offense for the university, following 2006, when they stormed the court after upsetting the Florida Gators in basketball Bruce Pearl’s first year.
"Financial penalties are imposed for violations in all sports sponsored by the Conference. Institutional penalties range from $50,000 for a first offense to fines of up to $100,000 for a second offense and up to $250,000 for a third and subsequent offenses."
Jalin Hyatt Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week – WalterCamp.org
In what is the first of what will likely be many awards this week, Tennessee Vols football wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was named the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week. He is the second Vol to win the award, following Hendon Hooker after UT beat the Florida Gators.
"Jalin Hyatt is the eighth Tennessee player, and second this season (Hendon Hooker, Sept. 25) to earn Walter Camp National Player of Week honors since the award started in 2004."
Soccer ties LSU – Ken Lay, VolsWire.com
A four-game winning streak for the Tennessee Lady Vols soccer team came to an end Friday night, as UT played the LSU Tigers to a scoreless tie. The Lady Vols are now 9-3-2 and 5-1-1 in the SEC.
"Lady Vols’ goalkeeper Lindsey Romig, the SEC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Week, made one save in the contest. Tennessee recorded its fourth consecutive shutout and eighth of the 2022 campaign, the Lady Vols’ first under head coach Joe Kirt."
Volleyball loses twice at Arkansas – UT Daily Beacon
Over the weekend, the Tennessee Lady Vols volleyball team was swept by the Arkansas Razorbacks, losing twice in just three sets each. UT fell to 10-10 and 4-4 in SEC play.
"With their season leader in kills, Mogahn Fingall, out with injury, Tennessee had to look elsewhere for their offensive production. Erykah Lovett and Emily Merrick both stepped up to fill in for Fingall, tallying double digit kills."
Swimming and diving loses both sides of meet to N.C. State – UTSports
Both the Tennessee Vols and Lady Vols swimming and diving programs fell to the N.C. State Wolfpack this past weekend. It was each program’s first loss on the year.
"The 13th-ranked Vols battled in a 198-155 loss to the No. 4 Wolfpack, winning five of the final nine events with a pair of wins, while the No. 7 Lady Vols came up short 207.5-140.5 against fourth-ranked NC State."
Women’s golf set for Tar Heel Invitational – UTSports
On Monday, the Tennessee Lady Vols golf team heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational. The event is hosted by the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Governor’s Club.
"The tournament will be a two-day, 54-hole event, with the opening two rounds scheduled for Monday, followed by round three on Tuesday."