How on earth can three touchdowns get called back due to penalties? That had to be what plenty of people were thinking following the Tennessee loss to South Carolina in Week 8. To see that happen was beyond frustrating, especially since it ruined some pretty great throws from second-year quarterback George MacIntyre.
Think No. 12 was ticked off over his TD passes being wiped off? You've got that straight. Thanks to the ESPN cameras too, everyone got a close-up look at just how irritated G-Mac was. With that said, however, MacIntyre can still be upset about what happened, but the fact of the matter here is that the refs didn't cost Tennessee the win. The penalties were the right calls to make.
George MacIntyre is EVERY Tennessee fan right now
— Sport & State (@SportNState) October 24, 2026
"They throw a flag every touchdown" pic.twitter.com/wj19g716qy
The refs 100 percent did not cost Tennessee a win going up against South Carolina
Again, MacIntyre can be angry over this, but no one can say that the team in stripes was the reason the Vols lost the game. The 12 penalties didn't just come out of nowhere. On G-Mac's 45-yarder to Mike Matthews, Tennessee was lined up incorrectly - can't complain about the flag.
On the touchdown pass to Braylon Staley, left tackle David Sanders Jr. clearly held up top of the defender, preventing him from getting to MacIntyre. Was it close? Sure, but a hold is a hold. That TD to Staley probably would have resulted in lights-out for the Gamecocks, but we know how this particular chapter in the rivalry ended.
Another major topic of conversation among Tennessee fans was a missed unnecessary roughness call that should have come in at the end of the game. As you'll be able to see in the video linked below, it sure looks like an extra hit was laid well after the play was over. You can be the judge here.
You can make the claim that the refs blew it, but this moment alone wasn't the reason that the Vols suffered the heartbreaker. Head man Josh Heupel knows all too well that his team didn't execute properly, and he's not going to go after the officials or anything. It's the little things that made the difference, not the officiating.
"Everybody's gotta take ownership of a lineman assignment, and it starts there," Heupel said after the loss. "Technique, a holding call out in the perimeter at the end. We knew that this crew called it tight out on the perimeter, too. It's on everybody to take ownership of it."
There will be zero room for error for the Vols moving forward, especially with No. 9 Kentucky up next on the schedule in Week 10. For that matchup, MacIntyre will be called upon to play his best game of the year - that will need to be the case for an upset win over a Top 10 team to arrive at Neyland for the second time this fall.
After beating Alabama, the Vols were brought back down to earth a bit, with MacIntyre not hesitating to say the loss to SC was one of the most frustrating games he's ever been a part of. It's hard to argue with that, but it's 100 percent his teammates who let him down a bit, and not the refs.
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