Josh Heupel shares his message to Max Gilbert after missed field goal against Georgia
Josh Heupel didn’t blame Max Gilbert. The head coach didn’t pin No. 15 Tennessee’s 44-41 loss to No. 6 Georgia in overtime Saturday night at Neyland Stadium on his redshirt sophomore placekicker.
“Listen,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference, “I told the team it’s a series of one plays that make the wins. And as a specialist, sometimes your life gets showcased in a way where you get very limited opportunities.”
Gilbert couldn’t connect on the opportunity that meant the most in front of a capacity checker board crowd. He missed from 43 yards out with seven seconds left in regulation, with Tennessee and Georgia tied at 38.
Gilbert did make a 48-yarder to give the Vols a 38-30 lead with 6:40 left in the fourth, then hit a 42-yarder in overtime, just minutes removed from his miss.
“I love the fact that he came back in overtime (and) drains it,” Heupel said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t make the one before, but he had his head high. And that’s the life of being a kicker, you know what I mean?
“And I love the way he responded. He’ll continue to grow and we got great trust in him. Unfortunately, he didn’t finish that one.”
Up Next: Tennessee vs. UAB, Saturday, 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Tennessee couldn’t finish as a team, either.
The Vols led 21-7 in the first quarter, only to see Georgia score 20 unanswered points to take a 27-21 lead in the third quarter.
It was a 35-30 lead after Joey Aguilar hit Chris Brazzell II on a 53-yard go-ahead touchdown and Tennessee had the ball back three plays later on a Joshua Josephs strip sack and Bryson Eason fumble recovery.
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But after taking possession at the Georgia 34, Tennessee jumped offsides on first down, then ran three straight times for a total of nine yards. That’s when Gilbert was good from 48 for a 38-30 lead.
‘End of the day, coaches and players got to be a little bit better to win that football game’
Tennessee’s defense couldn’t get a stop with the game on the line, giving up a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game. Georgia scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Gunner Stockton to London Humphreys with 2:32 left, then tied the game on the two-point conversion pass to Zachariah Branch.
Tennessee gained just one yard in its overtime possession, before the 42-yard Gilbert field goal, then the defense gave up a 21-yard Nate Frazier run to start Georgia’s possession. The Bulldogs scored the walk-off touchdown two plays later.
“End of the day,” Heupel said, “coaches and players got to be a little bit better to win that football game. And tonight, it’s going to hurt. And we need to drink all that in and taste all of it.
“Because if we’re going to move forward and be the team that we’re capable of, this feeling tonight’s got to be a part of what continues to propel us and the urgency and the focus and everything that we do.”
