All I ask do not blame kicker

Heupel should be recruiting 4 star kickers.

A child with no 4Q or pressure experience is not good for this program. I suggest a transfer is in order to fix this.
All I could think about when he lined up was Jeff Hall being in the exact same situation as a freshman in 1995: He drilled a 34yd FG in the waning seconds to beat Georgia 30-27 on a day when ESPN Gameday was in town.

Max Gilbert makes that kick 9 out of 10 times. The false start didn't affect it because it wouldn't have been good from five yards closer. However, him being prepared to kick on 4th down and all of a sudden the head coach says "go" on 3rd down didn't help his nerves, which were already rattled. That's like having a 90% FT shooter on the line for a one-and-one to ice the game and he misses the first one.

I know he's human, and we've all made our share of mistakes, but when the pressure is on, you have to step up when your number is called.
 
I’m not mad at the kid, but when they flashes to his face, I was like, “uh oh.” He looked like a deer in the headlights. He didn’t just miss the kick. He pushed it badly.
Holly Rowe even reported he was taking deep breaths on the sideline and the coaches were talking to him. Kid was petrified.
 
Lmao at the people crapping on Hype . His offense scored 41 points on perhaps the best defensive coach in FBS. On a defense that puts 6 or 7 guys in the NFL EVERY year. 21 points 1st qtr...most EVER against a Smart defense...and 41 for the game.

Banks got schooled today by Bobo. He was missing BOTH starting corners and BOTH starting DTackles....but he got schooled by Bobo today. He took WAY too long to switch to a 4-3 defense and add a 3rd LB so we could stop the run vs UGAs "jumbo" package. Thats why they ran the ball 13 times in 14 plays on their drive after halftime. We were still in base 3-4 Nickel defense playing only 7 men in the box against UGAs Jumbo package. Total azzwhipping on Banks there.

And YES it is ON THE KICKER. That was a routine 42yd FG. He has 1 job...which he gets PAID VERY WELL FOR. He choked away a win that would have had us in the drivers seat for the SECG and almost guaranteed a playoff spot. He choked his lungs out. Choked like a bitch. I promise you that the other players all KNOW he choked his butt off and lost us the game.
You can laugh all you want. I love Josh Heupel. He’s tremendous. He himself said he made mistakes in game management. So laugh at him too.
 
Several well detailed responses here already so I’m not inclined to add another. The simple fact is that there were a number of scenarios throughout the game where had things gone differently, we didn’t lose this game. Missing that field goal was just one of them. In each case we can pick out an individual who failed to “ do their job” and had they NOT failed, we wouldn’t have needed Gilbert’s kick. I’m definitely not “ hating on anyone “ here including Gilbert, but yeah… at that moment, in the scenario CREATED BY THOSE OTHER FAILURES…he failed. Like all of us, I’m VERY disappointed. I really believed we FINALLY had a realistic opportunity to break the long chain of losses to Georgia. Ah well… there’s still a lot of football to be played and I’m putting this loss on the shelf.
GO BIG ORANGE..!!!
Yep, the entire sequence was a contributing factor
 
When they cut to him practicing before the kick he looked shook. Not good I thought.
Agree.. Over the years watching football games, we’ve all seen “ that image”.. the team’s field goal kicker warming up in a possible game winning situation. The elite kickers have an “ I got this “ look about them. When Fuad Reveiz warmed up, he had that look..👍. I didn’t see that yesterday.
 
It's malpractice to "settle" for recruiting a guy who is questionable kicking beyond 40 yards. Why not get a kid who is a shutdown guy from ANY spot on the field? We see how important the kicker is. It's massive. They determine the results of games many times and you need to at least try and get the best out there.
 
Gilbert wasn’t the problem. He’s been a good kicker for us and I wasn’t upset with him. It shouldnt have come down to a field goal, should have kept our foot on the gas and went for the kill shot !
 
We just went head to head and toe to toe with a team that’s bigger, faster, stronger and deeper than we are. We have elite coaches or Georgia would have killed us. It was hot as hell on that field and nobody quit . Everybody gave their all for Tennessee today and we came up a little short. I’m not ready to crucify anybody.

You lost me after the first sentence with the moral victory.
 
I know he flubbed it but we should have closed the door on Georgia by then. I mean even the two point play the guy was completely open no one within ten yards one example .
 
It's malpractice to "settle" for recruiting a guy who is questionable kicking beyond 40 yards. Why not get a kid who is a shutdown guy from ANY spot on the field? We see how important the kicker is. It's massive. They determine the results of games many times and you need to at least try and get the best out there.
MOF YES! I'd be "Hiring" a new kicker this week. And putting present "kicker" on the bench, and the Dole.
 
He missed…he isn’t paid to miss. With NIL there’s no more innocence, these are “just kids” anymore. They are getting paid, they need to produce. He missed, he shouldn’t have misssed.
That's the last kick he attempts for me. Dude just screwed a million+ lives with that miss. Not to mention what that win would have been worth to the University of Tennessee. Players are not "Student athletes" anymore. It's a "Damn" (Heuple's word) job. It's a Huge Business. Bench him and find a kicker. Dallas kicker today hit 4 fgs, including a 64 yarder. He did his job.
 
This game should have been over prior to that .
The game could have went many ways many different times. However, it played out that our kicker needed to make the kick to win the game, “and he missed it”. It is a team game, you win as a team and you lose as a team. BUT, if he hits the kick, we win, simple as that. Sometimes sports is a tough learning field. He will learn from this I’m sure.
 
Can’t recall a crowd that sat on their hands as much as this one. You’d have never known this was a home game in Neyland against a top 10 team based on how dull they were. You only heard them when something good happened. Pathetic.
That's absurd. It was incredibly loud for the entire game. Were you there?
 
I agree this will be the best lesson for this young man. He’s only a sophomore so he will have many chances to keep getting tested and will become better for it for sure. I’ve never been in his shoes for sure and I can only imagine I’d be a mess of nerves with a stadium full of people too.
 
Disappointing loss, but, if you allow your life to be "screwed" by a college kid missing a field goal, that's on you.
Obviously an exaggeration, but how much better a Sunday would you have if the kick was made? Or next week? Or however long you derive joy from beating Georgia? Yeah, lives were screwed up, if only temporarily. (For those who take their football seriously). "College Kid" Getting Paid.
 
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