KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football's pass rush was among a number of lackluster performances at Alabama last Saturday. The Vols didn't sack Crimson Tide signal-caller Ty Simpson once and came up with just four tackles for loss.

Senior defensive lineman Jaxson Moi only has half a sack to his name this year, which came against Arkansas. He recognizes the need for the Vols defensive line to improve ahead of Saturday's trip to Kentucky.

He missed some time early in the season with a left arm injury sustained in the opener against Syracuse.

"We know the abilities that we have," Moi said. "We know our potential. So we really just want to live up to our potential."

Tennessee's defense has found success getting to the quarterback this season. The Vols picked up five sacks against Arkansas and forced four fumbles, recovering three. The trip to Tuscaloosa was a disappointment, albeit against a strong offensive line.

Another challenge in Lexington

With the Vols going on the road again, practice meant preparing for another unwelcome environment. While Commonwealth Stadium is significantly less daunting than Bryant-Denny, the mentality must be the same.

"Every time we're on the road, it's us versus the world, and that's really just in general too," Moi said. "As long as everybody in our building believes, that's all that truly matters."

Both of Moi's sacks last season came on the road. The first was during Tennessee's win at Oklahoma, and the second was in the final regular season game against Vanderbilt. Moi has stepped up in road environments before and wants to do so again Saturday.

One of Tennessee's strengths this season has been generating turnovers. Two defensive touchdowns directly led to forcing overtime against Mississippi State, and three fumble recoveries played a major role against the Razorbacks.

The Vols forced Simpson to fumble in the third quarter in its best pressure of the night, and Joshua Josephs recovered. Down 10 points, this was Tennessee's chance to get back in the game. Instead, a bad snap derailed the drive and forced the Vols to punt.

Tennessee's defense gave the Vols a chance to get back in the game with a turnover, but it was the offense who failed to deliver.

"We already gave an indicator to the center and trying to check the play, and that’s how an errant snap happens, and all of a sudden you’re behind the chains," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. "Ultimately we’ve just got to be a little bit better. You’ve got to take advantage of those situations."

Finishing is the key

Outside linebacker coach Levorn Harbin also addressed Tennessee's failure to get to Simpson. While he gave credit to Alabama's offensive line, he also acknowledged the role he must play in that improvement.

"There’s some things that I can do better to help the guys, that I have to coach up this week," Harbin said. "And the guys were in position a couple of times. Didn’t finish like we would like to, but we’ll clean it up this week and we’ll move on, being better than what we were last week.”

The Vols sit tied for third in the country in team sacks with Indiana and Connecticut at 26 on the year, two behind leaders Oklahoma and Western Michigan. Tennessee's pass rush has been an integral asset this season, but it didn't find effectiveness against the Crimson Tide.

Tennessee's defensive front did successfully limit Alabama's running game to 120 yards. The performance gives Moi and the defensive line room some more confidence, but it doesn't detract from the overall goal.

"We're glad we did that, but ultimately, we didn't win," Moi said. "So while we're confident in our abilities, we expect a lot more out of ourselves. We know if we put it all together, man, we're a great group."