There shouldn’t be much to criticize after the Tennessee Vols’ dominant 31-11 win over the Florida Gators in Gainesville on Saturday night.

Even if the Vols had won the game 3-0, there still wouldn’t be much to criticize — this game was all about breaking the losing streak in the Swamp, which dated back to 2003.

But that’s not how the internet works.

Josh Heupel is receiving backlash for the decision to kick a field goal before halftime

After Florida missed a field goal late in the second quarter, the Volunteers took possession on their own 20-yard line with 1:15 left on the clock (Tennessee also had one timeout).

Tennessee worked its way down the field, and the sequence started playing out similar to how it did just before halftime against Alabama (which led to the catastrophic Joey Aguilar pick-six that changed how that game was played).

The Vols managed to move the ball to the Florida 10-yard line (while holding on to their timeout). With 13 seconds left on the clock, Tennessee ran the ball for a short gain on second down.

Heupel then called his last timeout with two seconds to go and settled for a field goal, instead of taking a quick shot to the end zone and then kicking the field goal.

It didn’t take long for fans — and even the ESPN broadcast — to criticize Heupel for the decision.

I don’t know that there’s a right or wrong answer in that situation, but I thought it was a sound decision from Heupel.

The only way Florida was getting back in the game at that point was by winning the “middle eight” (the four minutes before and after halftime). The Gators were set to receive the ball to start the second half. The last thing the Vols wanted in that situation was another pick-six before halftime, followed by the Gators scoring on their first possession of the second half, suddenly making it a 28-14 game.

Sometimes, you have to thread the needle between being aggressive and being smart. In that situation, Heupel made sure not to open the door for Florida to get back into the game, while also finding a way to put some points on the board.

I’ve been as critical as anyone of Heupel’s clock management this season in end-of-half situations. But I thought he managed that situation well.

Heupel had to make a quick decision on how he was going to handle the end-of-half situation. I understand wanting another touchdown before halftime, and I think there was a way that Tennessee could’ve taken a shot at the end zone while still being smart.

But at the end of the day, Heupel and the Vols took a 31-0 lead into the locker room at halftime in the Swamp. It’s hard to criticize the head coach in that scenario.

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