KNOXVILLE - As much as Tennessee's football program would like to celebrate for a few extra days having removed the 10-ton monkey of an 11-year losing streak to Florida from its back, life in the Southeastern Conference doesn't allow such breaks.
The reward for a thrilling comeback win against the Gators is a trip to face Georgia at Sanford Stadium, where the Volunteers last won in 2006.
The chance to strengthen their stranglehold on the SEC East's top spot should be plenty of incentive for the Vols to come down quickly from their emotional high of beating Florida, but they risk losing some of the shine from the victory if they falter against the Bulldogs.
"This football team has won 10 games in a row, so we've been able to push the reset button," Vols coach Butch Jones said Monday. "We better, because this will be our toughest challenge to date, going on the road and playing a really good football team in a hostile environment.
"Communication's going to be at a premium, physicality's going to be at a premium and they do some really good things that challenge your toughness, challenge your eye discipline, challenge your schemes. They'll understand what they're in store for, but it's a week-to-week season. That's being a mature competitor, that's being a mature football team... 'Hey, that was great, but you know what, that's over with.'"
There's an understandable buzz around Knoxville, and the Vols will hear all week about the victory and how good they are. Players often talk about blocking out "the noise" when it comes to criticism after close losses or during losing streaks, but the Vols (4-0, 1-0 SEC) will have to use a similar tactic to avoid heading to Georgia (3-1, 1-1) overconfident.
"We're an older team," Tennessee senior center Dylan Wiesman said. "We're a team that has been through some things. This past week was a great week. It was historic, it was a huge win for this program, but that was last week."
Wiesman then referenced the "24-hour rule" that applies equally after wins and losses.
"You have to snap and clear and get over that and prepare for this next game," he said. "It's Georgia and it's a huge game. It's the SEC, and you have to come and bring your A-game every game."
Georgia is licking its wounds after a 45-14 beatdown at Ole Miss, and the Bulldogs pulled out close wins against Nicholls State and Missouri after an opening win against North Carolina.
"We know Georgia's a great football team," said linebacker Cortez McDowell, one of 22 Georgians on Tennessee's roster. "Every team that we play in this conference is a great football team. We know they've been on the road the last two weeks. They're going to be at home, and the atmosphere of the game is going to be wild. We have to control what we can control. That's how we prepare this week and how we'll come out on Saturday at 3:30 to play."
If Tennessee beats Georgia, the Vols would have beaten their top competition in the SEC East in consecutive weeks, and owning the tiebreakers against both rivals could come in handy in the division race with tough games at Texas A&M and against Alabama to follow.
"We're not looking ahead, per se, to (winning) the East or anything," Wiesman said, "but we're focusing on Georgia, and we know that if we win, all the things that we want to happen down the road are going to happen."
Though beating Florida was a necessity, Tennessee's goal this season was to reach Atlanta for the SEC championship game, and beating Georgia could set the stage for a return trip to the state in early December.
"I liked what they said in the locker room after the game," Jones said. "I have Derek Barnett running off the field and saying, 'Coach, it's one game, we've got Georgia next week.' That's what we have to rely on. We have to rely on our older players that have had this experience before, that know you live in a week-to-week season.
"We don't live in (a world of) what have you done for me lately; we live in a society of what can you do for me next. They have to understand that. Praise and blame, it's all the same. That's truly what it is, and you have to push the reset button."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.