The Tennessee Vols didn’t look crisp in their 42-9 win over the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday in Knoxville.

Tennessee out-gained New Mexico State by just 73 total yards. The Vols were also inefficient on third down, converting on just three of their 11 third-down attempts.

Vols head coach Josh Heupel admitted after the game that Tennessee had a day at practice this past week where the offense didn’t play with an “edge.”

“During the week, I thought there was a day where offensively we weren’t on edge at practice,” said Heupel. “And it’s a fine line. When you get to game day, it doesn’t just happen. So I said that to them in the locker room, too.”

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was asked about Heupel’s comments following the head coach’s media session.

Aguilar admitted that he wasn’t “elite” at practice.

“Just energy all around,” said Aguilar. “And being the leader, it starts with me not being elite at practice all day. And that causes me to come out here and have a game that I did today, you know, not the best. And super frustrated with that on myself personally. A lot of good stuff that we did, but that’s on me to carry that throughout the week and bring it in on Saturdays.”

Some fans were understandably concerned by Heupel’s comment about the lack of an edge at practice. One of the major concerns for the Vols after their loss to Oklahoma earlier this month, which effectively eliminated Tennessee from the College Football Playoff, was whether the team would be motivated to finish the season on a high note.

The substandard performance against New Mexico State, combined with Heupel’s comment about practice, only seemed to reinforce those concerns.

Why Tennessee’s low energy for New Mexico State game week isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Vols

There’s no doubt that Tennessee will need to bring more energy next week in the Swamp if it wants to beat the Florida Gators in Gainesville for the first time since 2003.

But I don’t think a low-energy week ahead of the New Mexico State game is a sign that Tennessee won’t have an “edge” next week as they prepare for Florida.

What we saw from the Vols this week was a team that had to face the reality that it came up short of reaching the College Football Playoff. These players are human — it’s understandable if they had a tough time getting past that this week. As disappointed as the fans are that Tennessee likely won’t make the College Football Playoff this season, the players are even more so.

Ultimately, it’s a good thing the Vols had an easy non-conference game this week. They needed a bit of a reset after the loss to Oklahoma.

Heupel has said all season that he loves the way this team competes. I think the Vols are still that same team. I don’t think an “off week” changes that.

What I do think, though, is that the lackluster week of preparation and the up-and-down performance against New Mexico State will serve as an important wake-up call for Tennessee ahead of a huge game against Florida.

I don’t know if the Vols will win in the Swamp next Saturday night, but I think we’ll see a much more focused and locked-in Tennessee team than what we saw against New Mexico State.

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