University of Tennessee Athletics
Collective Focus A Goal For Vols
November 09, 2015 | Football
By Brian Rice
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
Every phase, that is, except the final score. The Vols that day had twice as many first downs and nearly 200 more passing yards. Yet, at the end of the day, a 98-yard kickoff return by UNT’s Sears Woods with five minutes left in the game provided the only stat that mattered: 21-14.
In 2015, Tennessee will enter Saturday’s homecoming game focused inward after head coach Butch Jones said the Volunteers did not have a “collective focus” for all 60 minutes against South Carolina in a 27-24 win. The history lesson of 40 years ago in the only prior meeting with the Mean Green provides additional context for finding that focus for this game.
“This week is about every individual in our football program taking accountability for their self-determination and getting better as a football team,” Jones said. “It starts with us as a coaching staff. Like I told you Saturday evening, it was a very good win for us. It is very difficult to win, but it was a great game moving forward for us.”
North Texas enters at 1-8 on the season, the lone win coming two games ago over Texas-San Antonio. But the Volunteers have seen what has happened around the country when a seemingly overmatched opponent steps in in the moment.
“Each game is important,” quarterback Joshua Dobbs said. “Any time you step on the field, the opposing team has the opportunity to beat you. Every time you go out there to compete and play to the best of your ability. North Texas is the most important game on our schedule because it’s the next game.”
Cornerback Cameron Sutton sees the Mean Green’s record as a reason to find them particularly dangerous.
“They have nothing to lose and we’re going to get their best game,” Sutton said. “They are going to throw things at us that we haven’t seen and we have to handle those adjustments on the run throughout the game.”
The 1975 meeting was not homecoming, as it will be at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. Honors that season went to Utah three weeks later.
Homecoming can mean a bigger crowd at some schools, but the Volunteers once again look forward to the usual packed house. Each of Tennessee’s five home crowds this season has been over 100,000, the first time since 2007 that has happened. The Vols have averaged 101,913 fans per home game this season.
“That’s what is great about our fans,” Dobbs said. “They understand that every game is important, that each time you step into Neyland Stadium, it’s an opportunity for them to support us. I can’t thank them enough for the support that we’ve had this season.”
Jones has taken notice of the support and the difference it has made in key moments of those games, including as the Vols had four defensive stands to hold the Gamecocks scoreless on Saturday night.
“I think it is important to say thank you to our great fan base and all the support they continue to give to our football program and team,” Jones said. “We are going to continue to need them to make Neyland Stadium a great home-field advantage. They have been remarkable, and I think it shows the commitment and hunger that they have. It drives you to give them everything they covet and that we covet together as a football family.”
