That simply was not the Tennessee football team that everyone was used to seeing this season. Silly penalties, dropped passes, terrible play calls? That was the recipe for disaster on Saturday night, as the Vols suffered a deflating 37-20 loss at Alabama.
At the end of the first half, Vols supporters everywhere were furious with Josh Heupel after his play-action disaster gifted Alabama with a pick-six. It's a call that should have never been made and it can never happen again either. Come on, man.
Indefensible Josh Heupel play call gifted Alabama a pick-six against Tennessee
Heupel of course isn't the only one that plenty of people are upset with. We hate to call out defensive coordinator Tim Banks a bit, but he's simply not getting the job done for the Vols this campaign, which has been a huge surprise. His players were out of position, missing tackles and letting the Bama offense barely break a sweat in putting points on the board.
Tim Banks isn't getting the job done for Tennessee and fans are quite frustrated
The defense looking out of sorts unfortunately is nothing new for the Vols. In recent weeks, we've seen Tennessee give up 31 points to Arkansas, 34 against Mississippi State and don't forget about the 44 points allowed in the heartbreaking loss to Georgia. As you can guess, Banks is getting ripped a bit on social media for how things went in this primetime showdown.
As long as Tim Banks is at the University of Tennessee. We won't win anything in football. I'm very close to saying the same thing about Heupel.
— NormalVolFan (@NormalVolFan) October 19, 2025
Tim Banks needs to go, Wes. Completely unacceptable. Way too many mistakes. No adjustments or improvements.
— Britton Taylor (@brittontaylor) October 19, 2025
You have to fire banks if you are heupel, he is fine but his coaching style will NEVER win the big games. Unless the offense scores everytime it touches the ball. Tim banks can not call 3rd downs. He pisses down his leg every single time.
— AllVolsOzzy (@ozzzy30) October 19, 2025
Hey Tim Banks… pic.twitter.com/nLwyyRMXTb
— Charlie Burris (@Charlie_Burris) October 19, 2025
What Tim Banks thinks every offense will run on 3rd down and refusing to keep anybody below the 3rd down distance pic.twitter.com/vyNhuORrEk
— Jacob™ (@JacobGross_732) October 19, 2025
What was so frustrating against Alabama was it just felt like Ty Simpson had all day to throw and whenever the Crimson Tide were facing 3rd-and-long, the Tide were able to convert. Down 30-20 in the fourth quarter, the pass interference call on Colton Hood was back-breaking and then another brutal penalty made things worse for the Vols D.
Want to know how confident the Alabama offense was against the Vols defense? Up 10 points midway through the fourth, the Tide were facing 4th-and-2 and Kalen DeBoer went for it. Simpson ran for the first down and a late hit was called too. Soon after, Alabama put the proverbial nail in the coffin with a short touchdown run - ball game.
Last offseason, there was speculation that Banks could leave for another job, with his name being linked to Miami, Clemson and more. He returned to Knoxville and it was celebrated all over town. However, his defense is leaving a lot to be desired and frustration continues to mount among the fanbase. It's a shame, but both Heupel and Banks had a night to forget in Tuscaloosa.