The loss has been flushed. Yes, the ending to Saturday's game against Georgia was heartbreaking, but one game is not going to define the entire season for Tennessee football and its players. That's something Joey Aguilar is taking to heart with Week 4 up next.
Tennessee is 2-1 on the year and remained at No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 rankings. On Sunday, Aguilar joined WLVT's Rylee Robinson in the studio and he didn't mince words when asked about how he and the Vols plan to move forward. His focus has shifted to UAB and he's confident the locker room is going to respond.
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Tennessee QB1 Joey Aguilar stopped by the WVLT studio tonight.
— Rylee Robinson (@ryleerobinsontv) September 15, 2025
Aguilar and the #Vols look to bounce back in a big way after the OT loss to UGA. We talked about football, his family and what he enjoys to do off the field. pic.twitter.com/akiyQElpFw
Joey Aguilar has no doubts that Tennessee will bounce back after the loss to UGA
"Definitely looking back at film, I had a lot of missed opportunities that I need to take advantage of," Aguilar said. "But, you know, I'm super grateful for this team, the fans and this program. We're going to keep going to work. We have another opportunity to go play this week, so we're going to go to back in the film room, dial down the details and get that going."
That's a young man who is saying all of the right things after such a devastating loss. Aguilar can take blame all he wants, but he played his heart out in his first SEC showdown and the veteran QB put the Vols in a great position to record an upset win - it just wasn't meant to be.
On the afternoon, Aguilar tossed for 371 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Did he play perfect football? Absolutely not, but the Vols were a field goal away at the end of regulation from coming out on top. Max Gilbert probably feels awful too, but you can't put the loss on him either.
Again, the loss hurts and it's probably going to be painful for a lot of people until the end of the season. Ending the losing streak to Georgia would have been sweet, but Saturday is now a thing of the past. Aguilar is ready to push forward and that will start with the UAB Blazers up next at Neyland.