TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton understands emotion.

And following a 41-17 loss to rival Alabama, UT fans certainly will be emotional.

But Hamilton wants to make sure emotion doesn’t enter into any evaluation of Tennessee’s football program.

“We’re fortunate to be at a place where people are passionate about our product,” Hamilton said. “I’ve got a lot of friends who are ADs at places where they don’t have full stadiums and they don’t hear from their fans.

“I’d much rather be at a place like Tennessee where high expectations are the norm.”

Perhaps the biggest disappointment for Tennessee fans is the way the Vols have lost to two of the biggest rivals on their schedule.

Tennessee has been outscored 100-37 in losses at Florida and Alabama.

Florida’s victory over Kentucky, coupled with losses by South Carolina and Tennessee, puts the Gators back in control of the SEC East race.

But a trip to Atlanta for Tennessee’s first SEC championship game appearance since 2004 remains the goal, Hamilton said.

“Got to pick it up, go back to work and see what we can do the rest of the way,” he said. “We’ve got four straight home games now, and we need to take advantage of that.

“We’re going to have to have a little help to get where we want to go, and that’s the SEC championship. But we’ll see what we can do against South Carolina next week.”

But no matter what happens next, Hamilton wants to hold any final judgment on the football program until after the season is over.

“These are 12-game seasons and you have to look at things holistically,” Hamilton said. “I think that we’ve got coaches who have been down this road before and they know how to respond.

“Certainly you’ve got a lot of young men who are trying to learn how to be better football players and accomplish the things they need to accomplish, and I think that they’ll do that.”

Injury Report: Lucas Taylor, UT’s leading wide receiver, did not play after Tennessee’s second series of the second half and was limited all day by a toe injury suffered in last week’s victory against Mississippi State.

“It was really bothering him,” UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. “He couldn’t run and separate.”

Receiver Josh Briscoe suffered a first-half concussion and did not return.

Well Stocked: Redshirt freshman tight end Luke Stocker caught his first touchdown pass on a 3-yarder from Erik Ainge on the first play of the second quarter.

It was another play that got Stocker pumped Saturday, however.

“Coach ran the ball to my side and I kicked the defensive end’s tail,” Stocker said, referring to his block on Arian Foster’s first-quarter touchdown run. “I was really excited, almost more excited than the touchdown.”

No Mo: Tailback Montario Hardesty did not play Saturday because of personnel, not an injury.

The sophomore reserve, who did not play against Florida and Arkansas State because of an ankle injury, was kept on the bench Saturday because the Vols’ offensive sets called for either Arian Foster or LaMarcus Coker.

“We were in open sets and three-wide sets,” Fulmer said. “He’s not a great pass receiver, or at least we’ve got better guys at that, and didn’t get him in the game. We should have. He’s a good player.”

Lennon Creer had a carry.

Heavy Rotation: Tennessee played eight offensive linemen, with reserve tackle Ramone Johnson seeing his most meaningful snaps of the season.

Johnson subbed for starting left tackle Eric Young in the first half, but was whistled for a holding call.

“He was anxious and excited, quite obviously,” offensive line coach Greg Adkins said. “He had earned the right to get that opportunity.”

Choke Artist: UT defensive tackle Dan Williams said an Alabama player choked him on one play.

“I told the ref about it,” Williams said. “The only thing we can do is tell the ref about it. If they call it, they call it. If they don’t, they don’t.”

That particular play wasn’t whistled. However, Williams was flagged for a personal foul on a late hit of Crimson Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson.

Extra Points: Fulmer said he learned of a surprise suspension of five Alabama players shortly before kickoff. … Former Tennessee sports information director Gus Manning attended his 62nd consecutive Tennessee/Alabama game. … A 53-yard completion to Arian Foster in the second quarter was quarterback Erik Ainge’s longest pass of the season.

Mike Strange and Dave Hooker contributed to this report.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.