South Carolina Gamecocks @ Tennessee Volunteers: 5 Lessons Learned
By Zach Ragan
Oct 19, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones reacts during the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Butch Jones Can Coach!
Yes I know, we already knew this.
But Jones really proved on Saturday that he knows exactly what he’s doing and there isn’t even the slightest little nuance of the game that’s overlooked by the Tennessee head coach.
Late in the game I questioned Jones not going for it on fourth down (like he had done multiple times against Georgia) and punting with just under four minutes left to go in the game.
It turned out to the be the perfect call.
Against Georgia the Vols were in a rhythm and established the run. The offense was clicking in the second half and it made those fourth down calls pretty easy to make.
On Saturday, the Vols couldn’t consistently run the ball and they had been winning the field position battle all day.
Jones decided they’d be better off pinning the Gamecocks deep in their own territory and letting the Tennessee defense do what it had been doing all day — stop South Carolina.
It ended up working, the Vols got the ball back, strung together some first downs and the rest is history.
Butch Jones remained poised, when it would’ve been easy for a sense of urgency and emotions to take over.