The Tennessee Vols’ 44-41 overtime loss to the Georgia Bulldogs is going to sting for a long, long time.

The game was there for Tennessee to take. And they nearly did. But some questionable play-calling on the Vols’ penultimate drive in regulation, combined with a missed field goal with seven seconds to play, led to Tennessee’s losing streak to Georgia reaching nine games.

Most folks have pointed to the questionable play-calling on Tennessee’s next to last drive in regulation as the primary reason for the loss.

And while it’s certainly true that the play-calling that situation could’ve been more creative, I think Vols head coach Josh Heupel is taking a little too much heat.

Things just didn’t go the Tennessee Vols’ way late in the fourth quarter against Georgia

With just over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and with Georgia trailing by five, Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton fumbled as he was sacked by Vols edge rusher Joshua Josephs (Vols defensive lineman Bryson Eason recovered the fumble) .

At that point, Tennessee was in prime position to put the game away.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, the Vols’ next drive started with a false start penalty, which immediately put UT behind the chains.

With the Vols needing 15 yards for a first down, Georgia went into a two-high safety look with a light box. That led to Heupel’s decision to run the ball three straight times.

Those three runs, however, only picked up nine yards, resulting in a fourth-and-six from the Georgia 30 yard line. Instead of risking going for it on fourth-and-six, Heupel elected to kick the 48-yard field goal, which pushed Tennessee’s lead to 38-30.

Heupel explained after the game that Tennessee chose to run the ball because of the defensive look that Georgia was in.

“It’s a situation where they’re in the two high bracket coverage,” said Heupel. “We obviously don’t pick up what we need to [and] we get behind the chains. I was willing to be aggressive there if we got to a fourth down, too. Had a little trap play and end up losing inside on it. And we don’t pick it up and end up having to kick. And you got a chance to take it to full two possessions, for sure. But first to second down, a little bit of how they were playing was why we were doing what we were doing.”

I understand Heupel’s approach there. The Vols, though, didn’t execute on the field against a light box. We can question the play-calling, but if the plays are executed, Tennessee ends up in a much different situation on that drive.

The one thing I question Heupel on when it comes to that drive is the fourth down decision. Watching the game live, I thought kicking the 48-yard field goal was risky. If that kick is missed, Georgia gets the ball back down five points in great field position. At the time, I thought the Vols should’ve gone for it in an effort to put the game away. Heupel, though, wanted to make sure to get points.

There’s a lot of decisions that were made by Tennessee that we can go back and Monday morning quarterback. But you never know how other (hypothetical) decisions would’ve worked out, either.

Ultimately, things just didn’t go Tennessee’s way on the final couple of drives of that game. It’s easy to say that Heupel made the wrong decisions because the Vols lost. But again, if the plays are executed, it’s a different conversation. And that’s not to blame the players — the guys on the other side of the ball are getting a paid a lot of NIL money, too. Those guys are going to make plays.

Sometimes in sports, things just don’t work out. And there doesn’t necessarily have to be someone to blame when things don’t work out. That’s how it goes in competition. It’s never going to be perfect. Sometimes the team that deserved to win doesn’t for whatever reason.

Nearly every other decision Heupel and his staff made in the Georgia game worked out well for the Vols. Surely fans can let Heupel off the hook for a weird drive near the end of regulation that happened to go Georgia’s way.

Tennessee Volunteers News

Something interesting is happening with the Tennessee Vols and the national media is taking notice

The Tennessee Vols nearly knocked off the Georgia Bulldogs this past weekend in Knoxville. Tennessee had a chance to leave Neyland Stadium with a win. Max Gilbert’s game-winning 43-yard field goal attempt, however, sailed wide right, sending the game to overtime. Georgia, which was afforded an extra life thanks to Gilbert’s miss, handled business in […]

Zach Ragan