The actual score against Akron on Saturday is actually quite inconsequential when it comes to Tennessee’s future this season. The Vols are going to win – and win big. Instead of counting points, count mistakes to determine just how far the Vols can go this season.
The Vols have been a bit bipolar this season when it comes to playing without mistakes. Other than a defensive lapse late in the second half against Ball State in the season opener, the Vols played pretty much mistake free football. Pitt was another story.
Tennessee made far too many mistakes against the Panthers, especially on special teams, last week. The Vols had a punt blocked and fumbled a punt return against Pitt. That’s pretty inexcusable and will only get the Vols beat against better opponents, like Florida next week.
How does Tennessee fix those issues?
“Coaches and players together, starting with me and put(ting) our kids in a position to be successful,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Thursday when asked how to fix the special teams issues. “They’ve got to go out and execute during the course of the football game too, continue to grow here and in what we’ve done…We’ve got to be dialled in to our assignments, handle their adjustments, communicate adjustments from coaching to players when they’re on the sidelines and execute during the course of the game.”
Fair. Well, that should have happened against Pitt, but it didn’t. Heupel isn’t going to dive into the nitty gritty of why the Vols blundered through the kicking game against the Panthers. That makes sense. He doesn’t want to continue the negative narrative, call out any specific player or share any adjustments that might give other teams any insight into what the Vols are doing to change things up and avoid costly mistakes.
We know that special teams can lose a game for the Vols – and probably will – if they play like they did against Pitt. However, we also saw what could occur if an upcoming game is in doubt and the Vols need a clutch field goal.
Kicker Chase McGrath proved he is up for the challenge if there’s a kick that has to be made in a clutch situation. McGrath drilled a 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter in which he wasn’t put in the best circumstances. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said he didn’t do McGrath any favors against the Panthers.
“I didn’t get him on the field real early,” Heupel said. “They were a little bit, not rushed, but there was some urgency that they had to have to get lined up and ready. The snap, hold and kick were as good as it gets.”
It’s unclear why Heupel was slow to get McGrath onto the field earlier for what turned out to be a very important three points. Was Heupel considering punting the ball to pin the Panthers deep in their own territory or was he considering going for it on fourth-and-19? Surely not. Nevertheless, McGrath wasn’t fazed by the frenetic pace nor the pressure of kicking on the road in a nip-and-tuck game.
“Huge,” Heupel said. “He’s been really solid, man, he’s put them between the uprights. Huge kick, tough situation, he went out there and drained it.”
The Vols will need a clutch kick this season to win a game, as long as their special teams don’t rob them of any chance to win whatsoever.
