Tennessee should be used to winning ugly if that’s what you want to call it. The Vols did so again against the Kentucky Wildcats to position themselves for inclusion in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
The Vols’ defense led the way as No. 7 Tennessee topped the Wildcats 28-18 to move to 7-1 and 4-1 in the SEC and are primed for the College Football Playoff Committee to select them as one of the 12 teams to make the inaugural, expanded playoffs, which will be announced on Tuesday.
“Excited about the win,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after the game, in which the Vols struggled offensively, especially in the first half and actually trailed the Wildcats 10-7 at halftime. “Don’t take any of those for granted.”
No, Heupel shouldn’t take the game for granted, but he certainly wasn’t in a celebratory mode after the game. The Vols continued to struggle on offense with multiple dropped passes, penalties and a first quarter fumble by running back Dylan Sampson. Then, when the Vols needed a boost by special teams, kicker Max Gilbert missed three field goals. Tennessee could have feasibly won the game by 20 or more points. Heupel admitted as much.
“Still a lot left out for us (by) just starting fast,” Heupel said of the mistakes. “Offensively, special teams, putting it through the uprights…Some of the shots we’re close on. I just felt like we practiced really well. We’re continuing the game.
“We just got to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to go play our best football. And it’s never going to be perfect either. But, there’s a lot of things that we can improve upon.”
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava may have played his best game against decent competition. The redshirt freshman completed 28 of 38 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown despite a handful of dropped passes and consistent pressure, which resulted in two sacks.
“I thought he played with great confidence,” Heupel said. “Great poise…made plays when it presented themselves.
“I thought he saw things really well. So all in all, really, really good command and presence from him throughout the course of the night.”
When asked if he was surprised by the number of pass attempts against Kentucky, Heupel said, “Some of it’s just what what they’re giving you. Situational football can dictate that to you.”
With a handful of upsets on Saturday, Tennessee looks primed for some heady stuff on Tuesday when the College Football Playoff Committee reveals its initial rankings. Tennessee has four games remaining to lock down a playoff spot as they play Mississippi State on Saturday, then Georgia, UTEP and Vanderbilt to close the season.
“The things that we control, we got to be better,” Heupel said of the Vols’ potential success in November. “You got to tie it all together…Some things we did well tonight. Some things we got to be a lot better in. Offensively, the turnovers, you just can’t have those…We just got to be be better in some of those things. We’re gaining. It’s just you got to put the pieces of the puzzle all together.”
Heupel said he still believes in Gilbert despite the rough night against Kentucky. The redshirt freshman had only missed three field goals all season before missing three on Saturday against the Cats.
“I do have confidence in him,” Heupel said. “He’s got to find a way to start faster. During the course of the football game, he’s kicked it extremely well up until the last couple of weeks.”
Gilbert was successful on just one of three field goal attempts in the Vols last game, against Alabama on Oct. 19.
“He’s good enough and confident enough to go put it through the uprights too,” Heupel said. “So gotta keep pushing.”
That’s certainly the case with Gilbert. However, the same could be said for the Vols’ entire team, especially on offense.
