Much of the talk surrounding Tennessee as it prepares for its home finale on Saturday is about the College Football Playoff.

The Vols, who dropped to No. 11 in the playoff rankings this week after losing to Georgia last Saturday, need to win their last two games and get some outside help elsewhere in the SEC and college football to make the 12-team field.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Tennessee (8-2) hosts UTEP (2-8) this week at Neyland Stadium (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) before finishing with Vanderbilt in Nashville next week.

Josh Heupel's weekly speaking engagement on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday was again mostly centered around the playoff and the Vols' placement and their resume.

Here is everything he said about those topics and more.

"Saturday, for us is the Salute to Service. Thank you for all of the men and women that have and are currently serving our country. A unique day for us as a program, too. A unique opportunity to showcase and acknowledge the seniors inside of our program, what they've meant to Tennessee football. You know, for me, again, it's a special group. A lot these guys chose to stay when I first got here and have been such a huge part of what we've continued to build our program. The success that they've had on the field, off the field. Really proud of the group. Opportunity to take the next step in our journey here at the end of the season and focus like always, but certainly this week, controlling what we can control, continuing to grow in our scheme, our fundamentals and playing smart football. Excited to go play with these guys on Saturday afternoon."

"End of the day, we have no control over the rankings. There's still a lot of football to be played. We can't control those things. We can control our preparation, how we practice, how we get better. Get ready to go play good football. I've been on both sides of it, where you look like you've got a chance to be in, you look like you're out. The reality is, there's two more weeks of regular season play and conference championship games after that. So, for us, man, we control what we can control. I said that to players today, before he kicked off (practice). I thought we had a really good day out on the grass. A lot of focus and energy, guys continuing to get better."

"This is college football as good as it gets. The bodies, the skillets that you're playing, top to bottom, are the best in college football. You go play road games in this league, they're real venues, real road games. For us, they've been at night. You're going to get electric atmospheres. It makes it as difficult as it can be on the road, let alone the opponent that you're playing. I think that's played out pretty much every single year and I think in this era of college football, it is the deepest, top to bottom, that the league has every been. I think you just look down the schedules and the outcomes, it has played out that way. It's difficult inside of this league. It's different."

"I think coaches probably across the board aren't really excited, or didn't want the limits on the roster or certainly the number that they're at. College football, to me, is the greatest game that there is and it's a unique time where you're getting the chance to see people grow--that's scholarships, that's walk-ons--there's great stories of walk-ons that have impacted their teams, their programs and everybody. Guys that have gone and had careers in the NFL. I don't think any of the coaches are necessarily excited about it. That's certainly going to be a part of what we have to manage if you're in a leadership role and you get to the season, it absolutely has a chance to change some of what you are doing on the practice field."

"I think it's a part of everything that you're doing within the scope of your personnel department and how you're trying to manage and make your team as strong as it can be, but also understanding the limitations that you're going to have."

"Nico is tough, smart, competitive. He gets better with every opportunity that he has as a young quarterback. They always do. You get better through practice for sure, but being in those live situations and what you're seeing from scheme and everything that's going on in the course of it, they're gonna get better. Nico's done a good job. He's been smart with the football. He hasn't put it in harm's way. He's created some huge explosive plays. Our down the field passing game at times hasn't been what we're accustomed to. That's never just one person. That's, protection's a piece of it, route structure, wide receivers being on the same page as the quarterback, and the quarterback. We continue to get better. We continue to grow. Love Nico's makeup and what he's done here as a young player."

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