From the other sideline: Tennessee

Hear from Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley and his players after the 38-35 loss to the Gamecocks by the Volunteers. The loss drops Tennessee to 0-5 start in the SEC.

Head Coach Derek Dooley
Opening Statement
?Well that was another tough finish. It was a great football game and I am proud of my team for the resiliency that they showed. We gave up a lot of big points. It's the same old song and dance in the SEC games, but we had a chance to win. They made a great play, got the ball out and turned it over. So all you can do is move on. We didn't really accomplish what we wanted to against these SEC top teams but we have to turn the page. There is a lot at stake down the stretch and we could still have a really good season.

The offensive line's performance against the USC defense
They did a great job. That's one of the top defenses in college football. We put 472 yards on them and 35 points, but it wasn't enough to win the game.

Tennessee's identity as a team
?Our identity is to give up a lot of big plays, but keep fighting and try to hunker down at the end and win. So far that identity has gotten us 3-5. We need to fix our identity and reshape our identity.

Tyler Bray responding to challenge
He played a great game, but had an unfortunate end to a great game.

Marcus Lattimore's Injury
?Everybody has a lot of respect for Marcus and what he has done. Nobody likes to see a player get hurt. So I think when [my players] saw the severity of it and went out there, it just shows the respect that everybody has for each other as athletes. Nobody wants to see that happen.

Vincent Dallas • WR • Sophomore
Defense at the end of the game?
?[Jadeveon] Clowney is a good player, and he was coming off the edge really strong. They were just making plays when it counted.

Being so close to winning again??
We've been in a lot of situations like that all year. We just haven't been able to capitalize on the field.

Zach Rodgers • WR • Senior
Was that mistake totally crippling?
?Yeah one mistake when you're behind in a ball game in the SEC can really hurt you. We have learned week in and week out that you can't make those kinds of mistakes. At the same time, we've learned we can't dwell on the mistakes and the end result too much.

On the last drive
?We had a lot of momentum going into that last one and I thought we were going to score no doubt. I felt like we were going to go up and win this ball game, and break the streak. But unfortunate things happened and it just didn't go our way.

Justin Hunter • WR • Junior
Take us through that last play
The ball was thrown deep and on the inside a little bit, so I just tried to rush over there as fast as I could to jump up there and get it. I guess I jumped too late, and I had the ball in my hands but I guess he was able to make the play.

Not being able to get a win against the top of the SEC
It's obviously frustrating to be able to come back and make the game close at the end but still not be able to get over the hump. It's really frustrating.

Mychal Rivera • TE • Senior Did you see the fumble??
Yeah I saw the ball come out as I was finishing my route and just wasn't close enough to make a play on it and try to recover. I saw them get it and I knew it was all bad from there.

Was this similar to the other loses?
We're fighting, and if you look at last year we weren't fighting like we should have. Down by three going into the endzone you really can't ask for a better situation.