Kirk Herbstreit said the quiet part out loud about the Tennessee Vols’ loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks
The Tennessee Vols are looking to bounce back this week after a tough loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks two weeks ago.
Tennessee is hoping to get back in the win column this weekend when they host Kentucky in a big SEC game in Neyland Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Vols are 6-2 following their gut-wrenching loss to South Carolina two weeks ago.
Numerous analysts believe Tennessee was the better team against South Carolina, but untimely penalties and a couple of mistakes kept the Vols from getting the win.
The penalties, which wiped three touchdowns off the board and a big run by Javin Gordon on the Vols’ final drive, flipped the outcome of the game.
ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit, in fact, said this week that it can be argued that the refs took the game from Tennessee.
“Kentucky is in uncharted waters sitting there with only one loss,” said Herbstreit on his YouTube Channel. “That one loss, they were up big at halftime. They could be undefeated. They also could have lost a few other games, but to their credit, they’ve won them.
“And, man, the last time Tennessee played, against South Carolina, you can make a strong argument that the refs took that one away from them. They lost by three. It seems like (George) MacIntyre is kind of settling in there at quarterback.”
South Carolina fans won’t love those comments, but the flags from the eagle-eyed officiating crew — several of which were legitimate calls — certainly altered the outcome of the game.
Either way, it goes down as a loss for the Vols, but maybe the College Football Playoff committee will look at more than the result of that game and evaluate Tennessee fairly.
By the way, Herbstreit said he might like Kentucky to win outright against Tennessee this weekend, so he’s not all-in on the Vols as we enter the month of November.
