Josh Heupel explains what led to Tennessee's struggles in second half

Tennessee‘s 34-20 loss to Alabama was the quintessential ‘tale of two halves’ football game.

Leading the Crimson Tide 20-7 at halftime, the Vols were dismantled during the final 30 minutes that saw Alabama score 27 unanswered points. Once the second half began, things only got worse from there. With a couple of days to dissect the loss, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel revealed what went wrong for his Vols against the Crimson Tide.

“You’re in a tough situation coming out [to begin the second half], don’t pick it up. They get an opportunity and go get some more points,” Heupel said on Monday. “At the end of the day, our guys didn’t stop competing. We weren’t smart enough. We weren’t good enough, starting with me, in the second half. But they continued to reset and play. The momentum did shift during that series of events, but our guys continued to compete.”

It took 39 seconds for Alabama to score its opening touchdown of the third quarter thanks to a 46-yard reception from Jalen Milroe to Isaiah Bond. Two field goals and a Jase McClellan touchdown run rounded out the offensive efficiency from Alabama in the second half. A 24-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jihaad Campbell was the icing on the cake against Heupel’s Vols.

Despite this, Tennessee finished with more total yards of offense (404-to-358) and fewer turnovers (1-to-2) but wasn’t able to fend off the Crimson Tide once they got rolling.

To Heupel, it was situational football that lost Tennessee the game. And it was all in the Crimson Tide’s favor.

“Unique circumstances. They hit us with the one split-zone. The fair-catch signal from the front line places the ball at the 4,” Heupel continued. “You’ve got to give them credit, too. 

“But there are some things that we didn’t do well enough. You start [the drive] backed up, it changes what you’re doing on your opening drive a little bit, too, because of situational football. End of the day, reset. You’ve got to keep coming and playing — and we did at times. Offensively, don’t put it in when you get down there, with seven, eight minutes left and you’ve got a chance to make it a game.”

With Alabama out of the way, Tennessee has a better chance to play a complete football game this weekend against an ailing Kentucky team, as the Wildcats have lost their last two games after beginning the year 5-0.

The opening kickoff for Saturday’s matchup is set for 7 p.m. ET live inside Neyland Stadium on ESPN.