Tennessee Football Blame Pie: Who’s Responsible for Vols’ Loss to Texas A&M Aggies?

There is plenty of blame to go around in Tennessee football’s 45-38 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies. Here is a look at the Volunteers who are most responsible.

Tennessee football is still enjoying its best season in over a decade, and a double-overtime loss to the Texas A&M Aggies is nothing to be ashamed of.

However, the Vols still blew a chance to win this game. And for that, people need to be held accountable. And winning this game would’ve given them a chance to play with house money next week against Alabama.

So, as always, no loss is acceptable for Tennessee football. This loss is no different. As a result we have to point out those at fault.

Here is the blame pie for the Vols’ loss to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Butch Jones: 40 Percent

Butch Jones had the ultimate worst call of the game. Every mathematical scenario says that when you’ve scored a touchdown on the road, are down by one, and have been hit with a slew of injuries, that you should go for two.

Jones made the decision to go for one. That was a colossal failure. If Tennessee had lost there, at least they would’ve lost in regulation. But with Alabama coming next week, losing in two overtimes may have decimated them for that game. So they could be in trouble.

On top of that, Jones settled at halftime when the Vols were near midfield with two timeouts left. They could’ve score a field goal there. Those two things alone give him 40 percent of the blame.

Bob Shoop: 25 Percent

Butch Jones gets the overall blame, but Bob Shoop has not earned his money with Tennessee football to this point. For the second straight week, Shoop’s defense folded in crunch time. It nearly derailed them last week.

And it did derail them this week. Shoop couldn’t get a stop when his team was down by a touchdown late but got lucky with Malik Foreman’s forced fumble. He then got lucky again when Texas A&M drove into Tennessee territory with a chance to win the game. And finally, his luck ran out in the second overtime.

Shoop overall had a good game, but he was awful down the stretch. That was a problem.

John Kelly: 15 Percent

Let’s be fair. John Kelly was not supposed to start. And he finished with 13 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. However, he made two costly mistakes.

Kelly ran the wrong way on one running play, causing a Joshua Dobbs fumble. He then fumbled the ball himself on the next drive by making the inadvisable move of switching hands up the middle. That can’t happen in the future. Kelly is young and deserves a pass, but we can’t ignore his role in this loss.

Alvin Kamara: 10 Percent

Alvin Kamara was awesome with 127 rushing yards and 161 receiving yards. He was elite all day. However, that fumble in the first half was a crucial mistake. And that mistake alone at least gives him 10 percent of the blame.

Joshua Dobbs: 10 Percent

Josh Dobbs was a playmaker all night with 398 passing yards, 57 rushing yards, and four receiving yards. However, he made three crucial mistakes in the game. The first mistake was his fumble. He held onto the ball too long. The next mistake was trying to hit Josh Malone on a big third down play when he had Jason Croom wide open. And the final mistake was the interception. Dobbs is a great player and also gets a lot of credit for keeping the Vols in this game. But his mistakes cost Tennessee football.