Tennessee football’s 19-14 loss to Arkansas on Saturday night ranks among the toughest defeats of Josh Heupel’s four-year tenure as head coach, with the offense struggling throughout the game. Both Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle were unable to find solutions.
Heupel acknowledged making several mistakes during the game, but one in particular stood out that he regretted. During Tennessee’s two-minute drive, after Nico Iamaleava completed a 42-yard pass to Dont’e Thornton, Heupel chose not to call a timeout. As a result, 16 seconds ticked off the clock before the next play, due to the team’s slow pace in snapping the ball.
Reflecting on the decision, Heupel admitted that he wished he had taken the timeout: “In hindsight, yep, for sure,” he said. He initially believed the team was ready to snap the ball quickly but realized too late that they weren’t. He added that every timeout late in the game affects the strategy, but he regretted not using one at that moment.
At the time, Tennessee had two timeouts remaining but used only one, ahead of a critical fourth-and-five play at the 20-yard line, which ended up being the final play of the game. The Vols’ clock management was poor on the final drive. Despite having 1:17 and two timeouts, Tennessee only managed to run seven plays. The most problematic stretch saw them run just three plays in 49 seconds.
Iamaleava scrambled for eight yards on the first play, followed by a completion to Thornton and then an incomplete pass.
Following the loss, Tennessee is now 4-1 (1-1 SEC). The Vols will return to action this week, facing Florida at Neyland Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, with Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, and Kris Budden calling the game.
