There’s a lot of credit to give out when it comes the Georgia Bulldogs after they beat Tennessee football 44-41 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday, but what about the blame? Who’s most at fault for the Vols choking away what should have been a win? We break that down here in what turned out to be one of the most heartbreaking UT losses in years.
Defensive back seven: 50 percent
Gunner Stockton was the player of the game in passing and rushing, as he ran for 38 yards, threw for 304 yards and had three total touchdowns. The blame for that falls squarely on the Vols’ secondary and linebackers. Sure, they were without their two starting cornerbacks, Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III, but they still could have been better.
Far too many pass interference penalties cost the Vols in this game. Meanwhile, Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander were highly disappointing at linebacker. They failed to contain Stockton and cover the middle of the field, which allowed him to be even more effective. The safeties provided no extra help to cornerbacks who weren’t supposed to start. All in all, the pass defense was the worst.
Josh Heupel: 35 percent
There’s just no way to overlook the basic in-game mistakes Josh Heupel made on Saturday. Tennessee football can’t afford to punt it on 4th and 2 at the 49-yard line in a shootout with Georgia as he did in the first half, particularly when Kirby Smart went for it on two fourth downs that half. Then came the way he ended the game, which was atrocious.
Heupel had the ball up 35-30, and while a false start brought up a 1st and 15 in Georgia territory with eight minutes to go, he still made a mistake playing for the field goal. That allowed UGA to score. Then he tried to get cute with seven seconds left, and a false start penalty was drawn, resulting in the missed field goal by Max Gilbert.
Interior offensive line: 5 percent
Yes, the bulk of the blame falls on Heupel, but his mismanagement of those two second-half drives were both the result of false start penalties. Sam Pendleton had one after Tennessee football got the strip-sack with the ball up 35-30, and then Shamurad Umarov had the false start penalty that set up the longer field goal Gilbert would end up missing.
Max Gilbert: 5 percent
Two other parts of this blame pie break down why Max Gilbert missed the game-winning field goal for Tennessee football, but in the end, it comes down to Gilbert. He made a 48-yarder and then a kick in overtime from the same length as his potential game-winner in regulation, so he shouldn’t have missed that 42-yarder. Blame has to fall on him for not being clutch.
Joey Aguilar: 5 percent
Despite being an elite player for the Vols in this game, completing 24 of 36 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns, Joey Aguilar still threw two interceptions, albeit the first one was when he got hit. He also missed on a few throws over the middle. As a result, he’s arguably the best player in the game, but he bears some responsibility for the loss as well.
