Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer: "I told the guys, whatever it took, in the end result we wanted to get a win. Obviously it's hard to feel great about it because I thought we should have played better on offense and defense ... You have to give UAB credit for playing as well as it did. Their quarterback (Darrell Hackney) was a heck of a ball player. He understands the offense their system ... We were our own worst enemy with three turnovers and a fourth-down failure ... One ball slipped out of (Erik Ainge's) hand. On the naked bootleg his hand was wet and the ball just slipped out. The play of Rick Clausen was a very good thing to see. Rick was disappointed that we wasn't the starter, but he handled it with class. We talked about it, and we just need to worry about winning. The opportunities will come. Just as we thought he had a calming effect on everybody (when he entered the game.) We're going to have two great quarterbacks. The great thing about it is that they're over there encouraging one another (on the sideline.) The first guy who runs out there - to you guys - is a big deal, but to us it doesn't matter ... We didn't run the football as well as I thought we would (today) ... There are always challenges in the first ballgame."
