Taylor: Vols 'Will Not Fall Apart This Year' Despite Early Losses

Tennessee's 38-14 loss to Florida began with such promise that the Vols were going to make things interesting in Gainesville. Granted, they were for the first half, but the Gators pulled away as the game went on. Vols senior defensive back Alontae Taylor had a big night for the Vols, securing six tackles and forcing a fumble in the second quarter. Taylor also made his presence known to the media following Saturday night's game, as No. 2 delivered a confident and optimistic quote regarding the future of this season. 

“We won’t fall apart,” Taylor said after the loss to Florida. “We’re going to get closer as a team. We’re going to go back and watch the film and we’re also going to continue to build that bond. Next week, we’ll handle that when that comes, but one thing I will say— we will not fall apart this year. You can quote me on that.”

Josh Heupel also had some words regarding the future of this season and how the Vols are coming closer to being able to compete with the likes of Florida. 

"There's plenty of plays out there for us as coaches and players to close the gap tonight," Heupel noted following the loss. "We had a chance for it to be a tie-ball game going in. It's who we are and how we continue to develop as we build this program. It's in recruiting, too. We have to continue to grow or to race against ourselves. I said it last week, I said it the week before that. there are things for us to do that we can do better than what we showed in the second half, in particular tonight."

Tennessee will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers for a Week 5 matchup, a rematch from last year's 35-12 Week 2 Tennessee win in Neyland. This time, however, the Vols will face a different looking offense at Faurot Field.