Tennessee’s football team, despite a shocking loss against Arkansas, is ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25. It’s hard to imagine the Volunteers finishing anything worse than 10-2, and they look like a lock to make the College Football Playoffs. Considering those things, head coach Josh Heupel is enjoying dramatic success in his fourth season.
Of course, some UT fans might want to scream at that statement. They see a team falling short of Heupel’s usual offensive standards. But all UT fans should realize what happened Saturday in the 24-17 victory over the Crimson Tide. And they should realize they have a gem of a head coach on the sideline.
First, let’s get a few things out of the way
To appease those slanted toward negativity, let’s point out the reasons why fans might be unhappy with Heupel.
A. The University of Tennessee football team has looked awful in the first half of three straight games. And if not for a few fortunate occurrences, the Volunteers could have lost all three of them.
B. Florida made a half-season’s worth of crucial mistakes and failed to build a lead before losing in overtime. Plus, if Gators’ QB Graham Mertz hadn’t been injured, it’s easy to build a case the Gators would have won.
Rebuttal: The Vols missed a couple of open deep throws that could have changed this game early. Plus, UT made its share of mistakes, too.
C. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe made so many bad throws it’s hard to imagine him being the No. 1-ranked quarterback prospect by Pro Football Focus. Perhaps this will be a year where no NFL team drafts a quarterback in the first round?
Rebuttal: Nico Iamaleava didn’t set the world on fire, either. But unlike Milroe, he bounced back from his mistakes and made game-winning plays.
However, don’t miss Josh Heupel’s agenda
What is Heupel’s agenda, you might ask? It’s simple. His agenda is to win football games. A coach whose team scores 50 points per game and loses will get fired well before a coach whose team finds a way to win when it doesn’t score big.
There were instances in both the Florida and Alabama games where Heupel chose a conservative approach on offense. The point being that he swallowed his offensive-juggernaut pride and relied on his defense because it provided the best pathway to victory.
Many arrogant offensive-minded coaches would have pounded the gas pedal against the floorboard. And if a game-changing mistake occurred, the coach would flippantly say, “This is how we play football. We don’t change.”
But great football coaches adapt. They adapt from year to year, from game to game, from quarter to quarter, and play to play. Heupel never pushed the panic button one time against Florida or Alabama. Fans booed some of his mundane running plays. But in the end, they led to victory.
Being a college football coach these days, I’m sure, is maddeningly difficult. It’s the NIL, the players’ entitlement attitudes, the roster overhauls … you name it. To succeed in college football, a coach must be willing to wear whatever hat fits for a given game.
Perhaps “no huddle” becomes “slow huddle.” If it works to win, do it. Heupel proved he’s willing to bend. If he and his team can avoid upsets, they will be a significant player in the first expanded CFP.
And this year has already proven one thing: If you get in, you have a chance to win it all.
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