What UAB coach Trent Dilfer said about facing No. 15 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium

What UAB coach Trent Dilfer said during his media availability on Monday, previewing his team’s game at No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday (12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network):

How he would define a successful outcome for UAB against Tennessee

“You’re always trying to win the game. I’ve been in a lot of games where you’re a big underdog and nobody gives you a chance and as a competitor, you’re still trying to find a way to win. But I think we have to get better. And that’s why I said that at the beginning of the season and have been saying it to the team, this first third of the season is really finding out who we are and making sure we’re getting better and making sure we’re correcting mistakes and nothing becomes habitual. That we’re identifying people that fit into the system the best. People that are playing the hardest. People that are the most invested. Without preseason football, you can’t really know. It’s not like we’ve had a lot of these players for two, three years and know their DNA. So we’re finding out their DNA as competitors as the season goes on and you’re seeing how they fit into the system.

“I think a victory in this game is what you’re looking for, but there’s other victories, too. You want to be emotionally sharp throughout the game in a climate that’s going to be difficult to handle your emotions. You want to be mentally sharp and clear of thought in an environment where it will be hard to be clear of thought because it is going to be so loud and so intense. And then physically, you want to compete to the whistle against a team that is very physical and very fast and very explosive, that’s going to compete as hard as you, if not harder. I think you look for the victory in the game, but you also look for the victories emotionally, mentally and physically in individual matchups and units.”

The benefits of playing a tough game like this

“Well, it’s a great opportunity for your players. And I’ll be very honest about this with them, those that have dreams of the NFL, this is the game the scouts will watch. They don’t want to watch the other ones. They’ll watch this one first. They’ll watch this one and if they like what they see, then they’ll dig into the other ones. If they don’t like what they see in this game, you have no chance. You won’t get on a board, you won’t be looked at, they won’t come to our practices and keep watching you, they’re just going to write it off. Because this is the kind of game that’s every week in the NFL. Every single week in the NFL, you’re playing against somebody that’s as good as you or better. How you think, how you act and how you compete physically will determine whether you can survive and thrive at the highest level.

“I think the other one that’s a real thing, there’s an opportunity to make a lot of money in college football through the power schools. Our guys have a great opportunity to increase their value. They can increase their value for us, but they increase their value out in the open market, too. There’s still a portal and that’s unrestricted free agency, so they’re going to have a 10-day unrestricted free agency period come January and how they play in this game will determine their market value to a large degree. I think it’s a good opportunity there.

“And then I think as a team, those are the two selfish things, but they’re real things, I think as a team it’s a great opportunity to go and kind of show up. Show up and dress for success, so to speak. Make everything you do, how you act, how you compete, how you think, how you respond, making plays, show up. Let your light shine. Not to be cheesy, but like be somebody that somebody that has never watched UAB football watches the game and is like that offense can really go, that defense plays hard, they’re really good on special teams, where people take notice of what you worked so hard to build.”

Playing at Fresno State in games like this during his college career

“They were huge. We beat USC in the Freedom Bowl in ’92 and they’re still talking about it in Fresno. I think David Carr’s teams that had the big upsets. Coming from a Group of Five, mid-major, whatever you want to call it program that did beat some power schools, it did a ton for that program. There is a great deal of pride for the players, coaches and then the fanbase. I think also, it got a lot of us to the NFL. A lot of us, Fresno has a very rich history of putting people in the NFL and a lot of the reason is because we scheduled hard opponents. The NFL takes notice when the underdog goes and competes and plays well and individuals shine in those games. We played Colorado in the ’93 Hawaii Bowl and I think they had I want to say 12 players drafted off that team and we threw for 500 yards. So, a bunch of us skill guys, our draft stock went up, and it also showed we could put a lot of yards up against bigger, stronger, faster, more highly recruited people.

“I do think the gap is a little wider now at times, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have success. We have some very talented players that should match up just fine in this game. But then you have to have some guys that maybe don’t matchup as well play the best they’ve ever played and compete as hard as they’ve ever competed.”

UAB’s pass protection, how important it will be at Tennessee

“I think the first two (games), very good. Poor last week. It’s amazing how many times Jalen (Kitna) was able to beat rush with the throw. We had, I think, officially six pressures… it was more like 16. There were probably 10 others where if we hold onto the ball one tick longer, Jalen is either going to get hit or sacked or not able to make a throw. We got to sure that up significantly. And they did some things different. I think as coaches, we take a little bit of burden. They rushed five a lot more than they showed on tape. They were a lot more aggressive with their stunts and games. So we have to do a better job getting them prepared, as well.

“But this will be a tremendous challenge this week to pass protect. It’s the one thing that when you watch Tennessee consistently over the last couple years, is this coordinator (Tim Banks) does a great job of mixing his calls. The one consistency is they’re gonna get off the football and they’re going to try to disrupt your offensive line.”

Playing South Florida, who is coached by former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh

“It’s never comfortable. I got to know Alex Golesh really well when I was at Lipscomb (Academy). He recruited our school relentlessly and Alex and I talked a lot of football. We were together a lot. Alex has done everything that I – more than I have done offensively. And then over time, he morphed into the system that he and Heupel built at UCF and now Tennessee. It’s kind of the ultimate conflict offense if it’s going. If you get a defense playing on their heels and reacting to what you’re doing, you’re in a lot of trouble. What we tried to do against USF is not react, but instead try to say, ‘Ok, this is how we’re going to play you, and you need to adjust to us.’ It’s been successful at times, and it’s been wildly unsuccessful at times. So, I think we’re trying to find one more layer to defend this, where you’re not playing catch, so to speak. What I mean by that is you’re not like constantly going, ‘Ok, what are they doing? What are they doing?’ Instead, you’re kind of at least trying to force the issue enough.

“The one difference, too. Tennessee, they have the kid from Tulane (Chris Brazzell) last year that gave us problems that is a really, really good player. He’s tall. I think he’s like six-five. Can run like the wind. Really good ball skills. Super physical up front. You can’t just say we’re going to bend but don’t break. You’re going to break in the run if you do that, because they’re just going to pipe off big, giant runs on you.

“The quarterback is playing, I think, better than the quarterback last year. Significantly better. He makes quicker decisions. Sees the field a lot better. Has played a lot better football. Is tremendously accurate when he’s comfortable. And they give the quarterbacks a lot of what I would call training camp looks. Where because they spread you so thin, because they play so fast, you kind of just line up and play training camp defense. Quarterbacks with experience, when they see training camp defense, can get after you a little bit because there is no post-snap disguise. What they see before the ball is snapped is what they get after the ball is snapped.”

UAB playing at Neyland Stadium, how he plans to deal with the noise

“We will crank up the sound and make it obnoxious and do all the things that everybody does. You saw (Georgia coach) Kirby (Smart), I happened to be in here going over my call sheet when that game started, and Kirby was interviewed before the game, and he was like, ‘Listen, you can’t prepare for this. We play in these stadiums all the time and you do your best, but ultimately it comes down to the players having the poise to handle that.’ I think the one thing crowd noise does, and I lived this as a player and had to learn the hard way, it clutters your mind. It’s so, so relentless that it takes a skillset to tune it out, to have a clear mind and think properly. When you don’t, everything gets fast, and you find yourself making mistakes that you otherwise wouldn’t have made. Now, you can try to condition yourself to that, and you can practice the best you can, but inevitably, you’re going to have some players that won’t handle the cluttered mind due to the relentless crowd noise as well as they should.

“Now, I had seen a lot of players, we experienced this in Georgia, we didn’t handle it very good early, but guys kind of got used to it and then they settled down. Arkansas, there were moments it was pretty loud, but again, our guys got used to it. I think you also have to trust that you’re going to have some clunkiness early on, you have to protect them from some things, and then hopefully they settle in and uncomfortable becomes comfortable.”