KNOXVILLE - Tennessee football coach Butch Jones fell back on his clichés Saturday evening following the Volunteers' 49-10 loss to No. 1 Alabama.
He spoke of his slogan "Next Man Up" when discussing the preposterous number of injuries to Vols starters, which have now claimed no fewer than 11 for at least a game or two.
He spoke of his kids being "warriors." He said "you can draw anything up, but it comes down to execution. Football is a game of one-on-one matchups. That's really what it is."
But it was what he said about the upcoming off week that might be the truest words he's spoken all season. Said the fourth-year coach about the Vols' lone break of the 2016 schedule: "The bye week is coming at the exact appropriate time."
It has fallen a couple of times in recent years on the week before the Bama game, which produced dramatic contests in 2009 and last season, the Crimson Tide escaping with a 12-10 win in 2009 and a 19-14 triumph in 2015. Both those years ended in national championships for Alabama and coach Nick Saban.
Though Jones did not use the Vols' four straight games over the past four weeks against nationally ranked Florida (a 38-28 win), at nationally ranked Georgia (a 34-31 win), at top 10 Texas A&M (a 45-38, two-overtime loss) and Bama as an excuse for this meltdown, he did admit, "It has been a grind."
Now the grind is over, though the Vols do trail Florida by half a game in the SEC East despite owning the tiebreaker should they finish tied.
But the schedule softens. South Carolina (2-4 overall and 1-4 in SEC play) hosts the Vols on Oct. 29. Tennessee Tech visits the week after that. Kentucky (3-3, 2-2) arrives Nov. 12, followed the next week by Missouri (2-4, 0-3). Vanderbilt (3-4, 1-3) hosts the Big Orange the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
"Obviously, the grind has affected us injury-wise," said quarterback Josh Dobbs. "But each of these (past) four games is why you come to Tennessee."
It was always going to be a tall order to win those games, if not an impossible order to win all four. Injuries to everyone from potential All-Americans Cam Sutton and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, linebacker Darrin Kirkland and running back Jalen Hurd (out for A&M) made it all but impossible.
Yet Dobbs quickly brushed aside that losses to A&M and Bama could dampen this team's desire to succeed.
"Every time you step on the field, you're playing for something," he said.
Even in defeat, this team seems to continue to play for each other first and foremost. Discussing the hit he put on Bama quarterback Jalen Hurts that forced a fumble that led to the Vols' lone touchdown two snaps later, defensive lineman Derek Barnett humbly said, "It wasn't anything I did. It's the 10 guys around me who made the sack possible."
If that selfless attitude remains prevalent throughout the rest of the team, the Vols still have a chance to play for something as special as an SEC East title for the rest of the season.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.