This loss is going to sting for a long time. Tennessee football had a win over Georgia in their grasp, but it wasn't meant to be, with Georgia posting a 44-41 overtime victory. From our chair, however, this one should not have gone into OT.
It was all there for kicker Max Gilbert to drill the game-winner as time expired. However, a false start on third down pushed Tennessee back five yards and to the left hash. Gilbert's kick went wide and then the rest is history.
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With that said, why didn't Heupel run another play after the false start to get the ball back in a better spot for his kicker? He was asked about this by the media following the final whistle and his response sure has a lot of people talking:
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said that false start penalty definitely changed the plan at the end of regulation.
— Wes Rucker (@wesruckerTBA) September 14, 2025
Didn't want a holding call or another false start push it back even more. Decided to go ahead and kick it.
Josh Heupel was overly conservative late in the Tennessee loss to Georgia
On one side, sure, we get where Heupel is coming from. He was just backed five yards and he didn't want to move Gilbert back even further with the game on the line. On the other side, though, this is just way too conservative.
You can't call plays thinking the worst-case scenario is going to arrive. If this was in the back of Heupel's mind, why didn't he just kick the field goal earlier then? He was trying to get more yards on the ground and he didn't want to risk an INT from Joey Aguilar.
Yes, we get all of that. At the same time, you've got to take some chances and put your team in the best position to win the game. Risks will need to be taken and getting the ball back into the middle of the field had to be the top priority.
As soon as Gilbert fired off his kick, it was clear that it was sailing wide. Countless people inside of Neyland Stadium were deflated and nerves reached a new level. Tennessee's offense couldn't move the ball in OT, with Gilbert nailing his kick that time around.
Shortly after, Georgia scored the game-winning TD and the gut punch everyone is all too familiar with arrived. Heupel is a great offensive mind, but the way the fourth quarter ended is obviously something he'd like another shot at. It was a brutal way for the Vols to not pull off the stunning upset.