KNOXVILLE - The past few weeks haven't been the best for Tennessee's football program.
Three losses in the first five games have created a dour atmosphere for the Volunteers, which couldn't have made the preparations for Saturday's visit from 19th-ranked Georgia any easier.
Third-year coach Butch Jones said earlier this week that the adversity of the defeats against Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas - Tennessee led all three by at least 13 points - has "galvanized" his team.
Whether that's the truth or not won't be apparent until Saturday.
"We'll never lose motivation," linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. "We'll never lose focus. It might look like that from the outside, but internally we've got a strong group of guys. We don't let these past games affect us. The Oklahoma game hasn't come back, or the Florida game hasn't come back to bite us. It's each game is a new game.
"It's not like we're looking back on the past like bad things are going to happen. That's not how we operate. We've all got faith in each other. We've got trust in each other, we love each other and we're going to keep grinding, and we're going to end up having a great season."
A few plays here or different coaching decisions there and Tennessee already would be having a great season.
Despite some youth and some injuries, the Vols have been good enough to lead by double digits against all three victors, including two that are currently unbeaten and ranked 10th and 11th nationally.
They haven't closed out those games, though, and now sit 2-3 and, for all intents and purposes, out of the SEC East race.
"We're a mentally tough team," quarterback Josh Dobbs said. "We know our capabilities and the talents we have on offense, defense and special teams, and we know that we can make plays. We just have to do that. We have to execute.
"I wouldn't say it's difficult to turn the page, because if you don't turn the page, we have another good team coming here this Saturday. They don't really care what happened last weekend. They're coming to win."
What's happened so far has led to understandable criticism for Jones and his coaching staff. It's the former Central Michigan and Cincinnati coach's first encounter with the level of heat and pressure that comes with coaching in the SEC and leading a program with a fan base starved for the success that's long eluded the Vols.
Now the toughest chore for Jones and his staff may be keeping together a team and a season that's teetering on the ledge.
"I've got to eliminate the noise from the outside," receivers coach Zach Azzanni said. "We have a good football team. I have a good bunch of receivers. Are we working through some issues right now? Sure we are, but I've got to make sure they're focused and going 1-0 every day (in practice).
"It's hard," he added. "Social media, all the people in their ear - it could be anybody - that want to kind of rip the team apart, the players apart and kind of cause dissension. We can't let happen. We've got to have a bunker mentality (that) we trust them, they trust us and we've got to have each other's back."
Players and coaches are saying the right things. They aren't shying away from the negativity that's out there. In this day and age it's impossible for them not to be aware of their surroundings.
"They can't believe everything they read," Azzanni said. "I've got to stay away from it. My family's got to stay away from it. We've got to come in this building and work every day to go beat Georgia."
Cornerback Cameron Sutton said it wasn't difficult to block out or ignore the negativity.
"We can only control what happens internally in our program and in this building that we come into each and every day," he said. "We're still united as a team. We're still together as a team. We don't let that divide us. It brings us closer together. We're the only ones out there playing each and every Saturday, and we play for each other."
Tuesday's practice, the only one open to any media viewing during the week, lacked its usual energy, but the motivation shouldn't be an issue heading into Tennessee's biggest SEC home game of the season against a team the Vols nearly beat the first two years under Jones.
"We've just got to stay close and listen to ourselves and look at the real facts and know that we're a great team," safety Brian Randolph said.
"You ain't going to see any slack in the team this week. We know it's a must-win game. It's an opportunity for us to get the season back on track and get us in a positive direction."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com