Tennessee HC Josh Heupel makes honest admission about the end of the game in Vols' loss to Arkansas
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel admitted on Monday that he could've handled the clock better at the end of UT's loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks this past Saturday night in Fayetteville. Specifically, Heupel told reporters that he should've called a timeout after wide receiver Dont'e Thornton's big catch in the final minute of the […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel admitted on Monday that he could've handled the clock better at the end of UT's loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks this past Saturday night in Fayetteville.
Specifically, Heupel told reporters that he should've called a timeout after wide receiver Dont'e Thornton's big catch in the final minute of the game.
“In hindsight, yeah, for sure," said Heupel when asked if he should've called a timeout after Thornton's catch. "As I recognized that we weren’t immediately ready thought about going to timeout, then I thought we were ready to get the ball off in the next couple seconds. Every time out at the end of the game creates a different scenario where you’re not pushing the ball into the end zone, [you're] forced to push the ball into the end zone. So yeah, absolutely.”
Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed a 42-yard pass to Thornton, to move the ball to the Arkansas 25-yard line with 35 seconds left in the game. Tennessee had two timeouts at the time, but Heupel chose to not use one of the timeouts in that situation. The Vols didn't snap the ball for the next play until there were 21 seconds left on the clock. To make matters worse, the timeout that Heupel "saved" in that situation was later used when the clock was already stopped after an incomplete pass. That decision likely cost Tennessee at least two plays.
That's an area where Heupel and his staff need to be better moving forward. Clock management at the end of games can be the difference in a win and a loss. Losing that 14 seconds of clock isn't why the Vols lost to Arkansas, but it certainly robbed Tennessee of a couple of more tries to win the game.
