University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Report: Indiana State Week
September 06, 2017 | Football
Vols prepare for Indiana State after Monday's thrilling victory over Georgia Tech
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and UT student-athletes spoke to reporters at Wednesday's press conference in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
Jones discussed the No. 25/21 Vols' thrilling 42-41, double-overtime win over Georgia Tech on Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium."First of all, I am very proud of the way our players fought back and their mentality," Jones said. "We found a way to win a football game after going through a lot of adversity, some of which we created for ourselves. Nonetheless, we were able to win the football game."
Tennessee scored 35 of its 42 points in the second half and overtime. In rallying back from a 14-point defense against a Georgia Tech team that controlled the ball for most of the game, the Vols needed to execute when it mattered most. UT also benefited from game-changing plays like Rashaan Gaulden's forced fumble with 4:50 remaining in the fourth and Paul Bain's blocked field goal with time expiring in regulation."When you look at the turnovers, you are always concerned about that in any game," Jones said. "We had zero turnovers on offense and took the ball away twice on defense, so we had a plus two turnover margin. We had a blocked kick. We were 5-for-5 in redzone efficiency. We knew we had to score touchdowns. We couldn't kick field goals in the redzone. We only had two penalties. We talked about playing a clean game and how that would give us an opportunity to win."
Jones and the Vols now turn their attention to Indiana State. The Vols host the Sycamores on Saturday at Neyland Stadium with a 4 p.m. ET kickoff on SEC Network. Indiana State is coming off a 22-20 loss to Eastern Illinois in its season opener on Aug. 31.Jones and Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory both coached on the 2001 Central Michigan staff. Jones was the offensive coordinator and Mallory was the secondary coach.
"Indiana State is going to challenge us with different things like shifts and motions," Jones said. "They do a very good job, and I have a lot of respect for Curt Mallory, their football coach. He is a very close friend of mine. We coached together, and I know what he is all about. I know they will bring their A-game coming into Neyland Stadium."Vols Among Nation's Best Over Last 20 Games
Tennessee is 16-4 over its last 20 games. UT is tied with Michigan, Wisconsin, Stanford and Washington for the nation's fifth-best record over the last 20 games. Only Alabama (19-1), Clemson (18-2), Ohio State (17-3) and Oklahoma (17-3) have a better record over that stretch.Tennessee moved up four spots to No. 21 in the Week 2 Amway Coaches Poll. The Vols stayed at No. 25 in the AP Top 25's Week 2 poll.
Dormady Reflects On His First Start
Dormady, who had entered Monday's game with 10 relief appearances in his UT career, earned the win in his first start. He completed 20-for-37 for 221 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Vols completed a 14-point comeback thanks to big plays on defense and special teams and the offense's second-half surge. After halftime, Dormady went 12-for-17 for 169 yards with two touchdown passes to Marquez Callaway."Obviously there is a lot for us to improve on," Dormady said. "We will get better in this short week. Fighting back hard and getting the victory was awesome."
On Wednesday, Dormady discussed some areas that he thinks he can improve in for this week's game against Indiana State."For me, it's just making the easy throws," he said. "That's between me and the receivers by working on our timing. I think that getting back out there today, we will get things fixed. We just need to focus on making the routine plays."
Tickets Available for UT-Indiana State Game
Fans can still purchase tickets for Saturday's game between the Vols and the Sycamores. Tickets may be purchased online via AllVols.com or by phone by calling the Tennessee Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-332-VOLS.
