Tennessee HC Josh Heupel admitted he had a specific concern entering the second half against UTSA
The Tennessee Vols cruised on Saturday in Neyland Stadium, easily taking down UTSA 45-14 in a game that was never close. Tennessee's 31-point win was a step in the right direction for the Vols after suffering their first loss of the season last week against the Florida Gators. But while the 45 point performance was […]
The Tennessee Vols cruised on Saturday in Neyland Stadium, easily taking down UTSA 45-14 in a game that was never close.
Tennessee's 31-point win was a step in the right direction for the Vols after suffering their first loss of the season last week against the Florida Gators.
But while the 45 point performance was an encouraging sign for Tennessee, it wasn't a perfect game for the Vols.
The third quarter, specifically, was rough for Tennessee.
UTSA put 14 points on the board in the third quarter while the Vols were unable to score.
The rough third quarter prevented Tennessee from playing a "complete game".
Vols head coach Josh Heupel wasn't completely surprised by the lackluster third quarter. In fact, he admitted during "The Josh Heupel Show" that he was worried coming out of halftime that his team might not be juiced up for the second half of the game.
"Anytime you start as fast as we did and the score looks like it does, you're pointed in making sure your players understand what's about to happen," explained Heupel. "They're going to come out, you're going to get their best. You better match their intensity, their focus, their physicality. The competitive edge that you have to be on in this game for it to be right is super, super fine. And was worried about that as we came out in the second half."
"You come out, the energy in the stadium is not super juicy," added Heupel. "It's 31-0 and you gotta reset and go play. And we obviously didn't start the way that we wanted to or needed to."
The issue in the third quarter — becoming complacent with a big lead against an overmatched opponent at home — is one that plagues most college football teams. Even Georgia had some moments like that last season against clearly overmatched teams (Kent State and Missouri, for example).
It's easy once the game is essentially "won" to mentally move on to whatever is going on later that night, or even to next week's game against South Carolina. It's tough to stay mentally locked in during those moments, which is something that Heupel was obviously concerned about entering the second half.
Tennessee eventually found their footing again and they outscored UTSA 14-0 in the fourth quarter. But the lull in the third quarter put a bit of damper on what was an otherwise impressive offensive day for the Vols.
I don't think there's anything about the slow third quarter that should concern fans. Good teams have those types of quarters in games where they're dominating. We see it on a weekly basis in college football.
I have no doubt that Tennessee's intensity will be on another level next Saturday night when South Carolina visits Knoxville for a much anticipated rematch.
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Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
