Josh Heupel couldn’t quit coughing during his press conference, following Tennessee’s 24-17 win over Alabama football.

“It’s the cigar, OK?” Heupel said.

The cigar smoke filled the air in Knoxville, permeating rooms in Neyland Stadium that were almost certainly non-smoking earlier in the day. Outside on the field, the goalposts were gone and chunks were taken out of the checkerboard end zones.

The win was Heupel’s second over the Crimson Tide, both of them coming in Knoxville. Afterward, he praised his team’s effort in the victory.

“It was another prize fight,” Heupel said. “You gotta answer the bell. These guys answered the bell every single round. I would go to battle with these guys every single day. Just another great night on Rocky Top.”

Nothing was going especially well for the Volunteers in the first half. UT came in at halftime down 7-0, and the only reason Alabama wasn’t up more was poor execution by the Crimson Tide.

After the game, Heupel described what happened at halftime.

“Nobody blinks an eye,” Heupel said. “They got competitive composure. Understand that we gotta make some adjustments, got to go execute, got to go do our job. But inside the locker room, man, talk about guys that have belief, confidence and trust in one another and continue to play for one another on their side of the ball, on the other side of the ball. It’s awesome. And that’s the culture that you want to have inside your locker room.”

After losing at Arkansas for its lone defeat of the season, Tennessee has gone on a two-game winning streak. The Volunteers beat Florida in Knoxville last week, in an overtime thriller.

Heupel was asked what he thought about beating two of Tennessee’s most hated rivals.

“Joy in being on the right side of the scoreboard each Saturday,” Heupel said. “They’re two big games, historically. Our fan base, what it means to them, you know what I mean? And to our players, it’s big games because it’s league games, man.

“And to understand what it means in the things that you’re trying to go accomplish and what you’ve been working for since January and the last two weeks on that field — it’s really special because of what it took to find a way to be on the right side of this scoreboard with all the ups and downs.”

The Volunteers will be back in action after a bye week, facing Kentucky in Knoxville on Nov. 2. Alabama will play Missouri in Tuscaloosa next Saturday.