Tennessee made plenty of mistakes in its 19-14 loss to Arkansas. However, one seemed most impactful. Another was downright embarrassing.

First things first.

The Vols seemed to be taking control of the Arkansas game when defensive end Jordan Ross was called for running into the punter, which gave the Razorbacks a new set of downs. It was rather untimely, as the Vols had just taken the lead 14-10 with two touchdowns in the third quarter. Heupel said Ross was not supposed to be on the attack.

“We were in a safe call, playing the fake,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said following the game. “He is going to contain the shield right there. As he got hit, when I talked to the official, I guess, he may have hit him with his with his hands to the face. I didn’t see the entire clip of it, but, that’s what I was told.”

Ross may have been too aggressive on the play, but he has been successful that way before. In the season-opening game against Chattanooga, Ross blocked a punt, scooped up the ball and scored against the Mocs. However, that game was out of hand. The Arkansas game was slipping out of Tennessee’s grasp.

Ross wasn’t the only player that made a costly mistake in Fayetteville, Ark. The Vols were flagged 10 times for 60 yards worth of penalties.

“Disappointing night,” Heupel said. For us as a football team, I didn’t think we started fast, did the ordinary things that…Offensively, hurt ourselves consistently there in the first half. They were able to extend some drives, some third down conversions. 

“End of the day, starting with me, it wasn’t good enough tonight between all three phases. We’ve got to find a way to be on the right side of the scoreboard. We’ve got to get better. At this point, you got an opportunity to come together, pull harder, fight stronger, play for each other, and continue to grow. Still a lot out there, obviously, as everybody sees, but the main thing is we got to continue to get better.”

There is still plenty to play for, especially with a 12-team College Football Playoff in place for the first time this season. All is certainly not lost despite the anguishing defeat to the Razorbacks, in which the Vols’ offense was especially woeful. Tennessee didn’t score a point in the first half or the fourth quarter.

“We found a way to get ourselves behind the behind the chains early,” Heupel said. “You look at the first three drives, there was something that really hurt us. Men downfield, false start, holding, whatever it might have been…We’ve got to play smarter. We’ve got to play better up front. We’ve got to play better with our skill players on the perimeter. And we’ve got to play better at quarterback. But again, it starts with me. We got to all get better.”

Now for that embarrassing mistake

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was pressured early in the game and didn’t respond particularly well. The redshirt freshman threw for just three 158 yards as he completed 17 of 29 passes and no touchdowns. Iamaleava ended the game by running out of bounds with no time left on the clock. He said after the game that the ball was slipping from his hands.

“It’s a full concept read,” Heupel said. “He ended up scrambling off of it. End of the day, in that scenario, you got to get the ball up and give one of your guys an opportunity to go make a play. Nico, just like me and just like our football team, wishes that we had played better.

“In that that situation, you can’t keep the ball in your hands. You want to give somebody an opportunity to go make a play. He’s disappointed with it, but he’s got to come back and bounce back from it. He’s played way too good not to respond the right way, and I know he will.

Heupel was asked about the fact that the Vols lost to Ole Miss in 2021 on a similar play, in which former Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton ran out of bounds with no time left on the clock.

“Different situations,” Heupel said. “Older quarterback versus first guy experience.”

Same result.