What head coach Josh Heupel said after No. 8 Tennessee went into overtime and beat Florida 23-17 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday night:

Opening speech

“The fans were great tonight. A big part of the game. Appreciate them over time. As a football team, we love winning. I think the toughness of the group dropped by 10, I don’t know, seven minutes left in the third quarter, the offense isn’t playing well at all. Keep playing, keep competing and find a way to make some plays and get back into football. And then you go to overtime, come back, restart and finish the game the way you can and the way you want. I’m really proud of our boys.

“Defensively top performance – physicality, workload, most of the night time sounds good. made plays. James (Pearce) on the goal line forces the fumble. They just did so many things at a really high level and kept us in the game. And offensively, there are so many things you can be much better at, and that’s all 11 on the field. But keep fighting. Played something. So I need to clean up a few things. Man, everyone has to enjoy this. It’s hard to win in this league and tomorrow we’ll move on and get ready for another big game here at home.”

Tennessee was shut out in the first half for the second straight game, causing Nico Iamaleava to be picked from the pocket more often in the game

“I moved him a little bit at the start of the football game. Had a finish on the sidelines at the start of the football game. First trip, it started. We are on the positive side, read the edge and the ball ends up on the ground. There’s another ride, maybe the third, where we find ourselves on the positive side of the territory, holding the conversation and getting pushed back again. It’s not about doing anything unusual. It’s really all 11 working as a unit. And we can play much better than we did tonight.

“With Nico, he misses a few deep balls throughout the course of the football or game. Sometimes that will happen. We need to improve protection in the pocket for him. But I love the way he continues to be competitive as the game goes on.”

The improvement Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson has made between his freshman year and now

“He always had great vision and great pace. Obviously he has good long-range speed, but he’s really good between the tackles. I believe it continues to evolve and the understanding of what we do continues to evolve. But his physical strength, just his development in the middle of the field, those runs between the tackles, continue to give us a lot of plays. Finished the game right, man. Gigantic.”

If this performance embodies who Dylan Sampson is

“I think his competitive maturity, when things aren’t going well, his good body language and energy still passes on to his teammates. Get this, man, it’s the next piece we need to tackle. And have great beliefs. So I thought these guys were competitive at halftime. Come out and execute, I have a really good starting position and just a little bit off. So we have to go back and clean it up. Coach and players together.”

Tennessee has more linebackers on the field in this game compared to others

“Man, I’ll be honest, with everything that’s happened, I’m going to let you talk to (defensive coordinator) Tim (Banks) about it.”

The balance of a team with an elite defense and a struggling offense

“Which side was which? … As a football team, you just try to find a way to get a plus-one on the scoreboard. And if you find a way to be more than that, that’s great. At no point since I’ve been here has it been anything other than all of us together, man. I just like our defense, their competitive lineup, but also their belief in the other side of the football that they’re going to make a play. That’s what the team is all about. We weren’t perfect. We can be much better. That is positive. I was given the chance to get better.”

Tennessee’s defense’s confidence is rising

“You are confident, yes. But I never feel like they just believe it’s going to happen, you know what I mean? As if they understand that they have to make it. And they trust each other. There are things we need to clean up. But they trust each other, compete really hard and continue to play better, smarter football.”

What comes into play is overtime after Florida misses the field goal

“I don’t want to center it right away. Depending on the departure and the distance and where you are. This becomes a thought a little later as we move forward. I think playing football and staying healthy is the path I wanted to take. And when we get close to the goal line, of course you have the option to go in.”

In the first half, they tried on fourth down at their own 10-yard line

“Just the flow of the game, everything that happened, the distance. I also spoke to Tim (Banks). I just felt like (we) had to do something to keep them off the field, but also get something going.”

Tennessee’s strong set with defensive linemen on the field

“I brought a few defensive players with me. Get a head start right there.”

The play of Tennessee defensive tackle Omari Thomas

“Some big negative plays in the football game, beating inside blocks, attacking the back behind the line of scrimmage. Watch overtime and see how this sequence unfolded from our defense. It’s just elite, man, and he played extremely well. He’s playing his best football since we’ve been here.”

If he feels Tennessee is getting close to where he wants to be in the passing game

“Not tonight. I don’t think we’re far away, you know what I mean? But it’s not just the passing game, it’s also the running game. Missed tasks, basics, technology. Like the guys are open, we’re not reaching out. Guys, open up, we’re under pressure. It’s everyone’s turn, and at some point we have to say we’re going to man up, do our job and make this thing run the way it’s capable of.”

How Tennessee’s defense affects its game planning and game management

“I think situationally that is the case. Took some of the third downs tonight that we were ready to do. As for us as offensive players, some of the things that happened on the positive side of the 50 prevented us from scoring points. It hurt us in the way the game was played, but it’s different than it’s probably been since I’ve been here.”

Nico Iamaleava was sacked three times

“We block some of them. There are five people. These are your tight ends, these are your running backs. For some, for others he finds the weak point in the pocket. Part of it is recognizing what’s going on on the backend and putting you to the test. Some of them are wide receiver winners. It takes all 11 to play good football. Everyone has to do their job.”

If there is an update on the injured Tennessee Keenan Pili

“I don’t have an update on Pili. We’ll know more tomorrow. I’m not sure there is a better representative of what a volunteer is than Keenan Pili. You’re talking about a selfless man who cares far more about the people around him than himself. That’s an elite competitor, a great leader, tough, athletic, explosive, you name it. He’s just a dude, man. A special guy.”

James Pearce has achieved great success in the last two weeks

“Man, violent, destructive, is playing something big. Great play on the goal line. Focused and focused as a competitor, no matter what is happening. Just a really, really strong performance.”

Tennessee’s jumbo package, why they picked the defensive players they did

“A defensive structure that we saw from them on film is the reason we went there this week, and it’s two big, thick, explosive, long gaps, you know what I mean? Like you have the ability to move some people.