Josh Heupel: 'We just need to grow up and be smarter'

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel believes his team has some growing up to do following a loss to Alabama on Saturday. The Volunteers kept the Crimson Tide on their toes, and trailed just 31-24 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Then the wheels fell off. The Crimson Tide scored 21 unanswered points to end the game and come away with a 52-24 victory.

“There’s no question they compete every Saturday,” Heupel said. “I love that about this group. It’s a lot of fun for three quarters with these guys. We’ve just got to grow up and be smarter. Our margins are smaller and tighter than we want. They know that. We gotta fight to be on the right side of that.”

The Volunteers had their moments. Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker completed a 57-yard pass for a touchdown to JaVonta Payton that gave them a 14-7 lead entering the second quarter. After Alabama scored to make it 31-17, Tennessee responded in two plays with a 70-yard bomb to Cedric Tillman.

Unfortunately, that would be their final score of the evening.

Falling apart late in games isn’t a new occurrence for the Volunteers. Earlier this season, they trailed Florida just 17-14 at halftime and failed to score the entire second half. Last week, they came close to a comeback win against Ole Miss but fell just short.

There have certainly been positives in Heupel’s inaugural season. Their offense ranks 24th overall in yards per game after finishing 103rd in 2020. Hooker, who transferred this offseason from Virginia Tech, has thrown for at least three touchdowns in three of the past four games.

But, as Josh Heupel said, there is also some growing up to do. For as good as the offense has been, the defense ranks just 81st overall.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier in the next couple of games either. The Volunteers have a bye this week before hitting the road to face Kentucky. After that, they are back home against Georgia.

They close the season with a pair of winnable games against South Alabama and Vanderbilt. Tennessee needs only two more victories to become bowl eligible. It has already improved its record from last season where it finished 3-7 against an all-SEC schedule.