On if Hooker had an option to switch into another play on Tennessee’s failed fourth down attempt and if he believed that Hooker reached the line to gain on third down
“He didn’t have an option off of that. Communication up front to what we’re doing and how we’re blocking and how we’re doing things didn’t transpire the way it needed to. Didn’t feel like he got to the yard to gain on his (third down) run. I was in communication with the side judge to make sure that they were reviewing the spot. Those are tough situations, you don’t want to burn a timeout in those situations, but you’re trying to make sure that those things are being reviewed.”
On Tennessee’s final two drives on offense
“You want to finish. We talked about finishing the fourth quarter and emphasizing that. Just how our practice unfolds, we have a fourth quarter period and we make an emphasis that we’re going to play the right way. There were a lot of good things in the fourth quarter, but not enough in those crucial moments on the offensive side of the football. Fourth and short, we had a chance to go punch it in. Had great field position, defense goes out and gets a stop, we go after him, he shanks a punt, really good field position and don’t close it out. We have to grow up fast. We have good teams on the schedule and we’re capable of being a whole lot better than we are today. We have to take ownership of that collectively and as a team.”
[vertical-gallery id=46012]