Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel hasn't been booed much since he arrived in Knoxville in early 2021. 

In fact, I'm not sure he was booed at all before Saturday night's win against South Carolina. 

And even those boos weren't that sincere. 

With the Vols leading South Carolina by 14 points with just under 13 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Heupel chose to kick a field goal on fourth-and-3 from the 15-yard line instead of keeping the offense on the field. 

When the offense left the field for the field goal attempt, fans in Neyland Stadium started booing. 

The field goal, however, was the right call as it pushed the Vols' lead to 17 points, which made it a three possession game in the fourth quarter. It wasn't an exciting decision, but it was the right decision with a limited number of possessions left in the game. 

After the win, Heupel acknowledged the boos while reviewing the game with Vol Network's Bob Kesling on The Josh Heupel Show.

"There were a lot of boos here for kicking this one," said Heupel. "No one likes to go for it more than me. But at the end of the day, you got a chance to change it to a three possession game. Felt like you gotta do that to help the game be played the way you need it to [be played]." 

Heupel again acknowledged the boos on Monday during an appearance at the Knoxville Quarterback Club.

"You saw us slow it down, in particular at the end of the football game," said Heupel on Monday (via 247Sports). "Trying to control the clock, turn it into a three-possession football game, change the way the game is played. I know I got booed for kicking the field goal on fourth-and-3, but you know, you’re trying to manage all of those things as well.”

Heupel didn't make a big deal about the boos. If anything, he made some light-hearted references to it and moved on (which is always easier to do after a win against a conference opponent). 

Past coaches at Tennessee — specifically someone like Butch Jones — would've tried to "educate" fans and reporters. Heupel, however, isn't thin-skinned. He understands that Tennessee fans are passionate and the boos simply mean they care deeply about Vols football. 

Heupel has proven numerous times that he's not afraid to go for it on fourth down. But that field goal against South Carolina was a unique situation where he just couldn't pass up the three points. If Tennessee goes for it on fourth down and doesn't get it, then South Carolina gets the ball back down 14 points, needing only a touchdown and a defensive stop to have a chance to tie the game. The field goal made South Carolina's comeback attempt in the fourth quarter significantly more difficult. 

Tennessee fans have to love that they have a coach who doesn't feel the need to talk down to them or angrily defend his decisions. 

It's not always going to be perfect for Heupel at UT. I'm sure there will be some missteps along the way and decisions he'd like to have back. But through it all, it seems clear that his personality is a perfect fit for the deeply passionate Tennessee fan base.

Josh Heupel points out underrated sequence against South Carolina that ‘changed the game’

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