Seeing Oregon wide receiver Daryle Hawkins catch a pass, spin, and dart down a free and clear highway of hashmarks, Butch Jones meekly dropped his head.
Another throw. Another touchdown.
Jones stared down at the Autzen Stadium turf as the Ducks swarmed to the end zone to celebrate. Arms extended in a what-was-that kind of way, he trudged forward glancing up at an already out-of-hand scoreboard.
It read Oregon 31, Tennessee 7.
Later it read 38-7 at halftime and 59-7 after the third quarter before finally settling on 59-14.
Saturday in Eugene produced a 45-point defeat, UT’s largest margin of defeat in the modern era and the second-worst of Jones’ seven-year head coaching career. The worst came back in 2007, his first year at Central Michigan, when Clemson clubbed the Chippewas 70-14.
Speaking through a strained voice at Saturday’s postgame press conference, Jones said the Vols “won’t blink,” despite the historic loss.
It’s not as if they have time anyway. Next weekend brings a trip to No. 18 Florida. October brings home games against No. 9 Georgia and No. 13 South Carolina and a trip to No. 1 Alabama.
These are the very steep and very harsh steps of UT’s rebuilding process, but Jones says, or swears, that the lessons learned here have value.
“It better hurt,” Jones said of his message to his team. “I told them it’s unacceptable to play football like this at the University of Tennessee. It’s unacceptable, whether you lose by two or lose the way we lost. We expect to win football around here, so it better hurt.”
It hurt Antonio “Tiny” Richardson.
“(Oregon) is a good team, man, but at the end of the day, we’re Tennessee and we have to improve,” the junior offensive tackle said. “I’m just (mad) right now, man. I just hate losing. This is not what we’re about.”
But it’s who the Vols are, for now, at least.
Jones spent the second half pacing up and down the Autzen Stadium sideline, grimacing and clapping, grimacing and clapping. On the field, Oregon’s orchestral offense effortlessly played a sweet tune.
Every score was another gut punch. Each painted the glaring picture of two programs miles away from each other both on the map and in talent.
Jones’ three losses as Cincinnati head coach in 2012 came by a combined 16 points. He saw a 52-point deficit at one point Saturday.
“I’m going to learn a lot more about our leadership and how much it cares,” Jones said of the week ahead. “In critical stages of the game we lost our discipline.”
Much of that was due to overwhelming differences in Oregon’s depth and Tennessee’s depth. The Vols entered the game having used 13 true freshmen this year. The Ducks had used four.
“We’re going through that growth and maturation phase of learning how to win and what it takes to play winning football, and this will not be tolerated,” Jones said. “We can never accept this.”
Richardson said how the Vols react to Saturday’s bludgeoning could dictate much of what’s seen in the remainder of 2013. Prior to the weekend, the Jones Era at Tennessee had been virtually turmoil-free.
A 45-point loss, though, is tumultuous.
“We’ve got to play the game,” Richardson said. “We can do all the hoo-rah that you want, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to capitalize on everything that we do — on offense, on defense and special teams.”
Derek Dooley, Jones’ predecessor as UT coach, finished his three-year tenure in Knoxville with an 0-15 record against ranked teams and 2-11 on the road.
Jones is now 0-1 in both.
He’ll either be 1-1 or 0-2 following next weekend. Florida (1-1) was on a bye this weekend and will remain in the top 25.
According to Richardson and other players, Saturday’s loss won’t produce the snowball effect seen in recent years, but that remains to be seen.
“You can’t go back and you can’t hit reset,” Jones said. “We have to continue to progress and move forward, but I haven’t lost any faith in our football team. I love our players. They’re giving everything they have.”
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