Josh Heupel breaks down overtime miscues vs. Georgia

Josh Heupel broke down the overtime miscues against Georgia as Tennessee fell 44-41 in a thriller. The Vols ran three plays and were forced to kick a field goal after only gaining one yard.

Joey Aguilar threw an incompletion, DeSean Bishop ran for one yard and Aguilar threw another incompletion. Because of the sequence, and having the ball first, Max Gilbert had to kick a 42-yard field goal to take a temporary lead.

But as Heupel said, they didn’t make the critical plays. The defense gave up a 21-yard run to Nate Frazier on Georgia’s first play before Josh McCray finished it off two plays later.

“You’ve got to go play,” Heupel said postgame. “Listen, it’s the nature of the beast, right? They hit us with a heavy set and scissor zone and didn’t have it gapped out, or lost the edge on it. Offensively, we weren’t able to pick up the yards we needed to sustain the drive and go score. It’s not for lack of effort. Just didn’t make the plays at critical moments when you to have to in this game. That being said, in the back and forth of the game, man, this group competed really hard.”

Tennessee fell to 2-1 with the loss but proved they’re right there. Still, it doesn’t erase the sting of a golden opportunity in mid-September. 

“Losses never feel good, taste good,” Heupel said. “That’s not the expectation inside of this locker room, just to play somebody tight. I think the disappointment of tonight can be a moment, something in our journey together that can springboard and propel us if we choose to use it that way …

“Man, soak this baby in tonight, let it hurt. Same thing tomorrow for the players. Coaches, we’ll learn lessons and move forward early tomorrow. When the players come back in on Monday, it’s – whether you win or lose, man – it’s about how you’re going to get better. If we take the lessons from this one, use the disappointment to propel us, have even greater focus and urgency, we’ve got a chance to be a good football team and continue to get better, and that’s what we have to do to be the team that we’re capable of.”

Tennessee and Heupel will look to get back on track this weekend in non-conference play. The Vols host UAB on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET.