‘You just can’t win that way’ – Josh Heupel got real after Tennessee’s heartbreaking loss to Texas
The Tennessee Volunteers lost 20-17 to the Texas Longhorns in a defensive struggle in Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel didn’t hold back on Saturday after the Vols’ 20-17 loss to Texas.
The Volunteers’ offense managed just 221 total yards — 151 passing yards and 70 rushing yards — and that was mostly because the offensive line had a disastrous game (Texas had 10 sacks).
After the game, Heupel made it clear that the offense didn’t play well enough — and it wasn’t just one player.
“Offensively, just not anywhere close to being good enough to beat a team like this,” said Heupel. “And it’s everybody that will have a hand in it when we go back on Monday and [watch] the tape with the guys. But up front, we were not good enough. The quarterback was not good enough. Everybody’s got a hand in it, and ultimately we’ve got to be better. I do love how the team continued to fight and they played to the last play. But we didn’t play smart enough.”
“The O line’s got to be better and can be better,” added Heupel. “At times, we are giving up pressure off of chips — we’ve got to be able to execute that better. There are times with the quarterback’s eyes, decision making, and not getting rid of it when there’s opportunities to get rid of it. You combine all of that together, and you play good personnel on the other side, you just can’t win that way.”
Heupel certainly wasn’t making excuses after the game. He was very direct in pointing out that the offense as a whole just didn’t execute to its potential. And sure, the Texas defense played well, but they were helped out by a poor performance from the Volunteers’ offense.
To me, it looked like Tennessee’s offense played tight. It felt like they were pressing. True freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon is a warrior and he’s tough as hell, but he looked like a true freshman at times. Even when the offensive line managed to protect for a couple of seconds — which wasn’t very often — Brandon looked indecisive — and that led to a couple of sacks that should’ve been at least throwaways, if not a short completion.
Texas is one of the most talented teams that Tennessee will face this season, and the Vols gave them a scare. But I think Heupel’s reaction after the game — he was happy with the effort but not the execution — shows that he believes this offense can play at a much higher level than what we saw on Saturday afternoon against the Longhorns.
