KNOXVILLE - Oddsmakers have listed the Tennessee Volunteers as heavy favorites in Saturday's game against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
In the third contest of what already has been a challenging second season as the Vols' coach, Jeremy Pruitt just want to see continued progress for his team, which started the year devoid of experience at a number of positions.
His players just want a win.
It's been a long two weeks for the Vols. Their bumpy stretch started with a surprising loss to Sun Belt Conference program Georgia State - which at 2-0 already has matched its 2018 wins total - and was followed by a loss to BYU in painful fashion. Tennessee gave up a 64-yard pass that led to a game-tying field goal at the end of the fourth quarter, then lost 29-26 in double overtime after never trailing in regulation.
As fans grow increasingly frustrated, junior defensive back Theo Jackson said the leaders within the program are taking over.
"I would describe it as right now we're just trying to uplift everyone, and that's where I give credit to my seniors," he said. "They're keeping everybody up and keeping everybody's spirits high so we can move on to the next game."
Jackson didn't single out any seniors in particular, but junior defensive lineman LaTrell Bumphus noted that in a recent players-only meeting, linebackers Daniel Bituli and Darrell Taylor, wide receiver Jauan Jennings and defensive back Nigel Warrior were the most vocal. All four are seniors.
"Over the past week we watched film, we went back and watched the corrections," senior receiver Marquez Callaway said. "We saw that we did a lot of good but also that we need to do a lot of improving.
"The confidence level is going up right now. The coaches are bringing us up, the leaders, the team and the players. Everybody is pushing each other up, not just pointing fingers saying it's one person's fault or one side of the ball's fault, so we're all taking ownership for that."
Pruitt has noticed players taking charge, and he said what he saw this week in practice was what he expected.
"Just looking at them, I've said all along that I really like this group of guys," Pruitt said Wednesday. "I like our team. They have really molded together to become a pretty close group, and that's a good thing because right now that's what they need to do, and we're working hard."
Now they'll try to show it against a Football Championship Subdivision program that has beaten its in-state big brother just twice in 42 chances, with two of the games finishing tied.
The Southern Conference's Mocs (1-1) have both an offensive coordinator (Joe Pizzo) and a defensive coordinator (Lorenzo Ward) familiar to Pruitt. Pizzo was in charge of Mercer's offense in 2017 when Pruitt was the defensive coordinator at Alabama, which beat the Bears 56-0. Pruitt and Ward were defensive coordinators in the SEC at the same time for two years (2014-15), with Pruitt at Georgia and Ward at South Carolina.
Pruitt also noted Wednesday during the SEC coaches' teleconference that he remembers first-year UTC head coach Rusty Wright, who played for the Mocs (1992-95), calling the former tight end "a good player."
The two never met on the playing field, although they were close. A year prior to Pruitt transferring from Middle Tennessee State to Alabama, the Mocs lost 42-13 to the Crimson Tide. A year after Wright completed his eligibility at UTC, the Mocs played Pruitt's former team and fell 16-9 to the Blue Raiders.
They coached against each other in 2016, when Pruitt was the Tide's defensive coordinator and Wright coached linebackers for the Mocs.
Now they will meet as head coaches, with Tennessee desperately needing a win before heading into SEC play next weekend at Florida. The Gators are 2-0 and ranked ninth entering their league opener Saturday night at Kentucky.
The Vols, still reeling from their eight-point loss to Georgia State in a game they entered as 26-point favorites, aren't looking at the situation that way.
"It doesn't really matter who we play, we treat them the same as anyone," Jackson said. "We go in and prepare for them, and we never underestimate anyone. We just put our heads down and work and prepare as well as we can."
Added Pruitt: "Every week we have the same expectations, and that is to be at our best. The previous game will have no outcome on the next game. We have 60 minutes on Saturday to be at our best. That is one thing that we need to do, because we have yet to do that."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.