Not Heupel's Fault!!

#26
#26
OU beat Tennessee the same way UT beat them last year, with a Dline that dictated the game play. Banks hasn't magically forgotten how to coach, he just doesn't have a dominant Dline and 2 lock down corners this year. Makes a huge difference.. This was just last year in reverse..
 
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#27
#27
Josh and Joey were not the reason Vols lost to Oklahoma.Joey was not given time to find an open receiver because he was getting killed every time,the reason for the interceptions and fumble!The reason we lost the game was the horrible play of the Offensive Line,they were truly horrible!
Heupel decided to monkey with the starting OLine, which had been a strength. Yes, it’s Heupel’s fault.
 
#28
#28
The margins of error for most of the SEC is getting small. Go look at all the games won by one score or more this year even some undefeated teams or one loss teams have won by one score or one referee gift.
Agreed . UGA could/should be a 3 loss team. Ole Miss should or could have more losses. Texas lost to Ohio State by a couple of feet. It’s only going to get more difficult as we get into this 9 game conference schedule and I think it’s going to resemble a lot of what the NFL has looked like at times. It’s gonna be weird to recalibrate our thinking into what a good season will be and what’s good enough to make the CFP going forward. I don’t want anyone to confuse what I’m saying that I think losing is ok or acceptable, but I think it’s going to be pretty unreasonable not to expect having a couple of losses each year. I say that not just for Tennessee, but for everyone in the SEC. The weekly grind of the conference is different than every other one, by a large margin.
 
#29
#29
Agreed . UGA could/should be a 3 loss team. Ole Miss should or could have more losses. Texas lost to Ohio State by a couple of feet. It’s only going to get more difficult as we get into this 9 game conference schedule and I think it’s going to resemble a lot of what the NFL has looked like at times. It’s gonna be weird to recalibrate our thinking into what a good season will be and what’s good enough to make the CFP going forward. I don’t want anyone to confuse what I’m saying that I think losing is ok or acceptable, but I think it’s going to be pretty unreasonable not to expect having a couple of losses each year. I say that not just for Tennessee, but for everyone in the SEC. The weekly grind of the conference is different than every other one, by a large margin.

Don’t forget old undefeated Texas AM Only got by Arkansas by a FG but no one gave ole Tennessee grace for only squeaking by…..

Fans have no perspective these days. It’s hard and $ankey sold the teams out next year for money while ND and every 1 & 2 loss Little10 team will get into playoffs without every playing anyone with a pulse.
 
#30
#30
Don’t forget old undefeated Texas AM Only got by Arkansas by a FG but no one gave ole Tennessee grace for only squeaking by…..

Fans have no perspective these days. It’s hard and $ankey sold the teams out next year for money while ND and every 1 & 2 loss Little10 team will get into playoffs without every playing anyone with a pulse.
Sankey needs to start pressing Pettiti on making the B1G play a 10th Power 4 game. If we’re going to have this NFL Lite kind of CFP going on there needs to scheduling symmetry. Don’t get me started on ND. They have 2 respectable losses, but the fact that they now can get a bye in the CFP bc of the seeding change is ridiculous. They need to be forced to join a conference and get it over with . I think they’re a good football team, but I’d be interested to how they would do when they weren’t playing the bottom of the SEC, ACC and Big 10 every week like they are this year .
 
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#31
#31
If we can keep and develop a lot of guys and get them to be good upperclassmen players, while sprinkling in some good players of need in the portal I think we can be a very good team going forward. The formula for success of the last 2 national champs has been exactly that.

I would agree... might mean a little worse record in 26 as we will be even younger than this year.. I'm projecting 60-65 underclassmen next season. But 27 or 28 could be a heavy upper classes of really good players.. Might be able to make a run one of those years.. means being patient another year or two...
 
#32
#32
Exactly. David Sanders just got exposed when his eyes went inside.

Sometimes, the other guys are just better that day. The OU Defensive front was winning a LOT out there.

What’s the limit on the “they were just better that day” reasons for losses before it becomes “we just played like crap”? Not being sarcastic, I really don’t know. I would say the same about the Bama game too. They were just better and executed better than us that day
 
#34
#34
The fans with opinions on what play was or was not stupid or who should be fired are tiresome. But the angst against Heupel and those saying he is at fault are too.

It may or may not be Heup's "fault" but he is accountable for all aspects of the program. The charge of leadership falls on the top person, and that is Heup for all things football. His accountability may not mean any changes are made though.
Tell that to the guys who drive around town swiping reality signs, and place them in his yard at 3:45 AM.
 
#36
#36
Josh and Joey were not the reason Vols lost to Oklahoma.Joey was not given time to find a open receiver because he was getting killed every time,the reason for the interceptions and fumble!The reason we lost the game was the horrible play of the Offensive Line,they were truly horrible!
Meh... Heupel needs to make a coaching change at OL and S&C, and Joey should have taken the sack or thrown the ball away. Joey has had a few really bad plays, but he's been way better than what we have had for the past 2 years. Also, as Foster said during the game, we were trying too many long balls against this defense and were killing it with the mid-range game. We should have stuck to that more than we did. Next game...
 
#38
#38
Josh and Joey were not the reason Vols lost to Oklahoma.Joey was not given time to find a open receiver because he was getting killed every time,the reason for the interceptions and fumble!The reason we lost the game was the horrible play of the Offensive Line,they were truly horrible!
They've have been better this year than any other year (even 2022) under Heupel. They had a difficult evening because that's what Brent venables defenses do. that was the best front 7 we have or will face all year. They certainly had a difficult night which made the whole offenses night difficult. I would certainly not say they are "truly horrible", in fact, I have been extremely impressed all year!
 
#39
#39
I said a few years ago that our o and d lines looked like boys playing against men, NEWSFLASH! We have men on both sides of the ball now, I dont know what the problem was with the o line, other than getting beat by better players.
Our defense played somewhat better but still had a lot of problems especially on 3rd and long. We do need more quality depth on d for sure.
 
#40
#40
Well, last I saw every coach loses a game &/or makes a mistake. It’s no reason to go full “walk the plank” on him, especially if he’s improved your program significantly over the past 15 seasons before his arrival.

I saw the “great one” mismanage the clock several times. One most notably vs Tennessee in ‘22.
 
#41
#41
If OC calls long pass Joey is going to throw it long. With twin safeties , underneath throws were open. Quick passes should have been called by the OC. Screens and some draws in passing situations could have helped. Take what the defense is giving you. Offensive calls were head scratchers at times.

You’re absolutely correct. There was a time in the game where they were blitzing nearly every play. We threw one screen the entire game and it worked like a charm. Otherwise, we did nothing to soften the defense and keep them honest.

I honestly think when studying film Venables and their DC were sold on the gameplan of limiting the deep pass because they’ve seen in games past that we refuse to take advantage of 10-15 yard plays. Turns out they were right.
 
#42
#42
Agree. I read his after game comments and he admitted he was fooled a couple of times by the D and should not have tried to force it. The scoop and score was unfortunate but not his fault. Right tackle got beat badly and left Joey blindsided.

Penalties and not so good clock management by Heuple are still areas that needs improvement. Heuple has been outcoached a couple of times this season so he has room to improve also. I do think some changes to the D staff would be a good move by Heuple after the season.
Just noticed others had already mentioned the Sanders block. Anyway this is definitely one of those games we all would like to forget and continue hoping the total package with the Vols comes together.
 
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#43
#43
If only, if only, instead of, if had been me I would’ve, why can’t we….geez people! You act like every bounce has a reason. We got beat. For whatever reason is immaterial. It will happen again whether we are supposed to or not. I think we are over performing at this point…at least on offense. Yes the defensive secondary (bad luck losing the stars) and to some degree the linebackers have been disappointing but imagine what we originally thought would be the dropoff between Nico and Joey. Our QB has exceeded expectations coming from App St to the SEC. Chin up and let’s try to win out.
 
#44
#44
Josh and Joey were not the reason Vols lost to Oklahoma.Joey was not given time to find a open receiver because he was getting killed every time,the reason for the interceptions and fumble!The reason we lost the game was the horrible play of the Offensive Line,they were truly horrible!
What? Aguilar threw for three touchdowns and almost four hundred yards Saturday night. But on a couple of throws, he got too greedy and too aggressive with throwing it downfield when he should have more carefully seen the DBs and Safeties of Oklahoma more clearly and threw the damn ball away.

As far as Heupel is concerned, he made a couple of dumb decisions as well. For one, he should have accepted the penalty that would have been third and twenty-something instead of declining it and taking the fourth down as it would have taken the Sooners out of FG range. He should've known what a weapon and asset their kicker is. And to use a Freshman TE who only played two snaps all game on a trick play on fourth and one? Really. Damn it, we should have used Lewis or Bishop to run it up the middle or had Aguilar try for a QB sneak. Instead, Heupel and the OC call for a trick play that blew up in our face when a simple run up the gut or a QB sneak would've likely sufficed.

So, in closing, yes, Aguilar and Heupel were a part of the reason we lost Saturday night along with Gilbert, again, missing another chip shot FG because he has a difficult time performing under pressure. As far as our OL goes, they were going against a strong, stout Sooner front that is hard to contain. And our defense was doing good for a good part of the game but got worn down late in the game because our offense lost its footing at times.
 
#45
#45
If only, if only, instead of, if had been me I would’ve, why can’t we….geez people! You act like every bounce has a reason. We got beat. For whatever reason is immaterial. It will happen again whether we are supposed to or not. I think we are over performing at this point…at least on offense. Yes the defensive secondary (bad luck losing the stars) and to some degree the linebackers have been disappointing but imagine what we originally thought would be the dropoff between Nico and Joey. Our QB has exceeded expectations coming from App St to the SEC. Chin up and let’s try to win out.
Exactly. During the first part of the season, when the Oklahoma Sooners were struggling, I thought, "This is good. Should be an easy win for us. And we're playing at home." Then, when they started to improve, I was like, "Oh s***, they're going to be a problem for us." And the latter is what happened. We made some bad decisions, but it was more like that Oklahoma had a better game plan and did a very good job of exploiting our weaknesses in order to help them get the win against us on the road. It sucks, but s*** happens. Life goes on.
 
#46
#46
Yes. None of the blame goes on Heupel when the O Line gets destroyed. Ellarbee and Heupel met on the day that Heupel got to Knoxville and Heupel didnt have any other choices. Same with Martinez.
The head coach owns the clock management gaffs and the sideline not knowing the rules.
The offensive coordinator takes the blame for the offense. Both play design & protection schemes.
The quarterback directly decides when to take a sack, throw the ball or throw it away.
 
#47
#47
Josh and Joey were not the reason Vols lost to Oklahoma.Joey was not given time to find an open receiver because he was getting killed every time,the reason for the interceptions and fumble!The reason we lost the game was the horrible play of the Offensive Line,they were truly horrible!
The stupid NegaVols need to shut their holes otherwise they’re going to run the greatest coach since Fulmer out of town. Nega’s ruin everything.
 
#48
#48
Don’t forget old undefeated Texas AM Only got by Arkansas by a FG but no one gave ole Tennessee grace for only squeaking by…..

Fans have no perspective these days. It’s hard and $ankey sold the teams out next year for money while ND and every 1 & 2 loss Little10 team will get into playoffs without every playing anyone with a pulse.
If we were undefeated, this might be a good point. But we are not.
 
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