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Tennessee football: Five best arguments for Vols to stick with Jeremy Pruitt

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt watches his team stretch out before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2020 Taxslayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt watches his team stretch out before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2020 Taxslayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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JACKSONVILLE, FL – JANUARY 02: Eric Gray #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after a 16-yard touchdown run to give his team the lead in the fourth quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Tennessee defeated Indiana 23-22. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL – JANUARY 02: Eric Gray #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after a 16-yard touchdown run to give his team the lead in the fourth quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Tennessee defeated Indiana 23-22. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

4. Winning record in close games

While the blowouts are concerning, Jeremy Pruitt has proven his abilities in close games. Tennessee football is 5-3 in one-score games with him as head coach. If you expand that to include games that were within one score in the fourth quarter, his record improves to 6-3.

We should also note that the game with the Georgia State Panthers wasn’t really close. UT trailed 38-23 late and had a meaningless touchdown at the end. Now, that may look worse on Pruitt, but for what it’s worth, it improves what he looks like in close games.

There are plenty of factors going into play in these close games as well. Pruitt largely does a good job of saving timeouts in the second half, he’s aggressive on fourth down and he will try onside kicks when he gets the chance. Just look at the coaching job he did last year in the Gator Bowl comeback to win 23-22 against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Another part of this success is that Pruitt’s players don’t panic. Now, they may quit if it gets out of hand, or that’s what the blowout losses suggest, but they don’t quit. There was that Gator Bowl comeback and that goal-line stand against the Kentucky Wildcats to prove that. These are important factors, and they are points in favor of Pruitt. We can’t ignore them.

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