Tennessee football was one yard away from bringing the deficit to only two points heading into halftime, but an arrant throw by Joey Aguilar led to an Alabama pick six and a nine point swing at the end of the first half.
Alabama handled business in the second half, limiting the Vols' offense and cruising to a 37-20 victory after pulling away in the fourth quarter.
That interception to end the first half was likely the reason the Vols weren't able to get within striking distance against Alabama and the call by Josh Heupel to throw it has been questioned by fans and commentators since the decision.
ESPN's Booger McFarland took a shot at Heupel for being aggressive and going for the touchdown, criticizing the decision to go for the touchdown, rather than take the field goal.
"I blame Josh Heupel for this," ESPN's Booger McFarland said at halftime. "You got to know in that situation, you want to get points. You have to tell you quarterback if he is not wide open throw it in the stands so we can quick a field goal."
"As a defender, I know with no timeouts left and you want to put points on the board, you have to pass the football," McFarland continued. "I know we are throwing the football. I don't care what formation you come out in ... To me that was telegraphed"
While it's easy to criticize the decision, every Tennessee fan was hoping we wouldn't run the ball to end the half in case Alabama stopped the offense and time expired.
It's also easy to say it was a bad call when Aguilar threw the ball behind Miles Kitselman. If he threw it out in front of him, it's a walk in touchdown and everyone is praising Heupel for the great play call.
Could Tennessee have dressed up the play or given the Alabama defense a different look? Yes, but Hindsight is always 20/20. To act like the best option would be to go for the field goal at the one yard line, or blame Heupel on the throw and ultimately the result of the play is disingenuous.
It's disappointing Tennessee wasn't able to score before the half, it's disappointing Tennessee lost, but they played far better than I expected after previous SEC games.
The Vols missed on the pick-six to end the half, but Heupel and the coaching staff have this team in contention for a ten-win season year-in, year-out which is something no one thought would happen so quickly when he was hired in 2021.
Tennessee needs to reset and prepare for its final stretch of the season. There is still a lot to play for, including another ten-win season. Road trips to Kentucky and Florida could make or break the season with a trip to Lexington scheduled next week.