3 biggest losers and 3 winners from Tennessee's heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Texas

While we hoped that if some time passed by the loss to No. 1 Texas would hurt less, that's just not the case. No. 14 Tennessee (for now) went toe-to-toe with Arch Manning and Co., but consistent mistakes proved to be too much for the real team in orange to overcome. A 20-17 setback was posted, with Texas celebrating at Neyland.

Speaking of those mistakes, there are three people in particular who are getting a ton of blame right now for the performance and understandably so. On the flip side, there are three players who have nothing to hang their heads about following the loss, which we cover below with our losers and winners:

Faizon Brandon (loser) was reminded he's still got a ton of room to grow

No one should be bashing Faizon Brandon too much after the loss, but at the same time it can't be ignored that he had a rough performance. Brandon missed way too many simple throws that were in front of him. He made the wrong reads too, which was frustrating and throwing for 145 yards won't cut it. His touchdown, while encourgaging, came in desperation time after struggling to move the offense all day.

Glen Elarbee (loser) needs to wake up and get his offensive line ready for battle

You likely knew offensive line coach Glen Elarbee was going to make the cut here. The Tennessee offensive line gave up a mind-blowing 10 sacks against the Longhorns. Ten! That's pathetic on its own, but Colin Simmons recording five of his own adds to the anger. Countless fans are calling for Elarbee to get fired right now and it's easy to see why. He's got to make sure the group does a 180 to take on Auburn next weekend.

Josh Heupel (Ioser) has people questioning his offense again

At the end of the day, Josh Heupel is responsible for how his team performs. Not just that, but when the offense looks sluggish and ruins Tennessee's chances of taking down the No. 1 team in the country, it's a rough look for the veteran coach. Just like Elarbee, Heupel is getting a ton of heat following the loss. While we don't think he's on the hot seat at all, the offense must also show improvement in tough SEC contests. Nothing like what we saw vs. Texas can be showcased again, period.

Qua Moss (winner) single-handedly got things rocking at Neyland Stadium

Switching gears to the positives, punt returner Qua Moss deserves all the love he's getting right now. With Tennessee down 10-3 and the offense doing NOTHING to give people hope, Moss changed things in the best way possible with his electric return for a touchdown. It gave the Vols a needed spark and even if it came in a loss, Moss came up huge for his team when the Vols needed it most.

Xavier Gilliam (winner) was a total force for the Tennessee defensive line

Enough can't be said about the job Jim Knowles did to disrupt the Texas offense, and up front, it was the Xavier Gilliam show. The Penn State transfer was consistently winning battles in the trenches, which led to four total tackles (two for loss) and one sack. Gilliam continues to get better with each week, which has been fantastic to see. He's going to keep being an important figure for Knowles' unit.

Arion Carter (winner) is one of the best linebackers in the SEC

Speaking of the defense, the leader on that side of the ball is senior linebacker Arion Carter and for good reason. Just like Gilliam, he was flying to get to the ball and he made life difficult for Texas ball-carriers. Carter led the team with his 11 total tackles, which was no surprise at all. Carter gave his all in the loss to Texas, but unfortunately it just wasn't enough to will the Vols to one of the biggest upsets of the season.

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