Losses don’t get much more heartbreaking than the Tennessee Vols’ 44-41 overtime loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

It looked like Tennessee was about to end its lengthy losing streak to Georgia when Max Gilbert lined up for a game-winning 43-yard field goal. Unfortunately for Gilbert and the Vols, the field goal went wide right, and Georgia went on to win the game in overtime.

The Vols were a field goal away from jumping into the top 10 and instantly becoming one of the top College Football Playoff contenders.

A missed kick completely changed the narrative surrounding Tennessee, but that missed kick doesn’t change who Tennessee is as a team.

Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols are who they thought they were

Losing sucks. No one likes to lose. It’s the worst.

The loss to Georgia is especially painful for Tennessee because it was so close to ending the losing streak to the Bulldogs. Kirby Smart even said after the game that he felt like he should apologize for winning because Tennessee deserved to win. It’s a tough result to accept if you’re a Vols fan.

But the result doesn’t change who Tennessee is as a team. I don’t think the opinion of Tennessee as a team should be based on Gilbert missing a kick. The missed kick doesn’t erase what the Vols did in the 59 minutes and 53 seconds leading up to it. Which is why I will base how I feel about the Vols moving forward on that 59 minutes and 53 seconds, not the missed kick or what happened in overtime (the wind was taken out of UT’s sails after that missed kick — it happens, they’re human).

The game against Georgia was a dogfight. Both teams threw haymaker after haymaker (it felt a lot like the Vols’ win against Alabama in 2022). Tennessee’s depth was tested. Its resolve was tested, and they kept answering. They made plays when plays had to be made. They held Georgia to field goals in key spots when it looked like the defense was gassed. The Vols showed up in this game — they met the moment.

It’s just that sometimes in sports, you can do almost everything right and still not get the result you want.

There’s plenty that Tennessee can improve on, and I’m sure it will moving forward. But if that field goal is made, no one is talking about what the Vols need to improve on or what the coaches could’ve done better against Georgia. Instead, everyone would’ve been talking about what a huge step forward Tennessee’s program took.

I still think the Vols took a big step forward despite not getting the result they wanted. And I know that’s not what some fans want to hear. But look, this team’s goal is to win a national championship. They weren’t winning or losing a natty on Saturday against Georgia. Whether that kick goes in or not, the Vols would still have to show up nine more times in the regular season and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff each week. The result doesn’t change what Tennessee needs to do the rest of the season. It just makes the path to a spot in the College Football Playoff a little more difficult, but it’s not like it was ever going to be easy.

Tennessee believed going into this season that it could compete for a national championship. I think the performance against Georgia proved that.

If the Kansas City Chiefs lose to the Buffalo Bills in the regular season, no one thinks that means the Chiefs can’t beat the Bills in the playoffs.

Tennessee didn’t finish the job on Saturday against Georgia, but that doesn’t mean they won’t if the two teams meet again in December or January.

The Vols are a good team. They have a lot of work to do to get to where they want to be. But that was true regardless of the result against Georgia on Saturday.

The loss stings, but it happened. There’s no changing it. So the Vols will have to turn it into a positive.

And here’s the positive — this loss will allow Tennessee to keep its edge. It has to turn this narrow loss — and the inevitable negative takes from the national media — into motivation. It’s really the only choice the Vols have.

Tennessee Volunteers News

‘I don’t mean this directed at Tennessee’ – Kirby Smart drops quote after win against Vols that has fans perplexed

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart dropped an interesting quote after his team’s 44-41 overtime win against the Tennessee Vols. Smart, as he often does, referenced the “naysayers” after Georgia squeaked out the win. When asked about his “naysayers” comment, Smart told reporters that there’s been a lot of “whistling by the graveyard.” “I think […]

Zach Ragan