If Tennessee learned anything from their first voyage into the College Football Playoff, it’s to try and fly underneath the radar. Former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard reminded the Vols of that this week.
While appearing on “Gruden’s QB Class,” with Jon Gruden, Howard had this to say when he was asked to look back on the 42-17 walloping that Howard and his Buckeyes laid on Tennessee. The subject at hand? UT’s decision to go shirtless in pre-game warm-ups despite the frigid temperatures.
“The funny thing is they came out with their shirts off and they ran over to the opposite endzone and immediately put them back on,” Howard said. “I was like, ‘What the <expletive> are these clowns doing?’ At that moment, I knew that we had them.”
That, of course, is easy to say in retrospect. Tennessee never got things going, especially after running back Dylan Sampson was knocked out of the game with a hamstring injury in the first quarter. With or without Sampson, the game was never in question. It’s impossible to argue that Ohio State wasn’t the better team, but just how much better? Did Tennessee’s pre-game shenanigans make things worse? Probably.
The Vols were outscored 21-0 in the first quarter and never got within shooting distance of Ohio State. For UT’s program, the game and simply making the inaugural 12-team playoff was a step in the right direction. However, it’s also a good learning experience. In other words, it may be time to chuck pre-game messages, especially since they don’t often work.
Former Tennessee coach Butch Jones learned as much when he referred to Alabama as the “red team” instead of the Crimson Tide before the two teams’ matchup in 2013. That didn’t work. The Vols got thumped 45-10.
I can certainly appreciate Tennessee trying to absorb the cold while shirtless and hopefully making a statement about the Vols’ toughness. However, the whole display seemed a bit forced. Perhaps that’s because Tennessee lost handily. If the Vols had beaten Ohio State with a pre-game, shirtless look, then the narrative following the game would have been much different. However, it wasn’t, so it’s not.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is known for his innovative offense. Some might call it gimmicky, despite the fact that it is rooted in the running game and depends on power more times that not. Being innovative is good. Being gimmicky is not. That might be something to consider the next time the Vols are ready to pull the guns out.
