Josh Heupel confirms suspicion about why Tennessee couldn’t run the ball in loss to Oklahoma
The Tennessee Vols managed only 63 rushing yards against the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night.
One of the big reasons the Tennessee Vols lost to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night in Knoxville was UT’s inability to run the football.
Tennessee managed just 63 rushing yards on 35 attempts (1.8 yards per rush) in the 33-27 loss to the Sooners.
It was by far the Vols’ worst rushing performance of the season. And it essentially made Tennessee’s offense one-dimensional against a stout Oklahoma defense — not ideal.
Vols head coach Josh Heupel confirms suspicion about why Tennessee couldn’t run the ball in loss to Oklahoma
One of the reasons why Tennessee couldn’t run the ball is fairly simple — the Sooners are really good up front. Oklahoma won in the trenches all night, which impacted Tennessee’s ability to effectively run the ball.
It also seemed like the Vols chose the wrong time to run the ball against the Sooners. There were times when the box was light, and it looked like Tennessee should’ve run the ball, but they went pass instead.
After the game, Heupel explained that there were instances when the Vols should’ve run the ball, but quarterback Joey Aguilar chose to throw to the perimeter instead.
“One, they’re good up front against the run,” said Heupel. “Two, there’s some times where we had some runs, and we’re throwing perimeter tags when we shouldn’t. So a combination of all those things, and then late the game plays out the way that it does.”
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables confirmed that he was willing to “give up some things underneath” to Tennessee.
“We played with a light box for a good part of the night — we were willing to give up some things underneath,” said Venables.
Aguilar told reporters after the game that Oklahoma did a good job of disguising coverages.
“They were trying to disguise coverage, and they did a good job on that,” said Aguilar.
This is a game the Vols should’ve won. But poor decision-making from the quarterback, failing to protect the quarterback, and poor late-game management from the coaching staff all contributed to Tennessee losing a game they shouldn’t have lost.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Tennessee Vols as Josh Heupel confirms suspicion about why Tennessee couldn’t run the ball in loss to Oklahoma.
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