It's a decision that's going to leave Tennessee football fans shaking their heads for a little while. In the 37-20 loss to Alabama on Saturday night, the biggest play for Alabama was no question the pick-six at the end of the first half. A 14-point swing in the Tide's favor? You bet.
As everyone recalls, head man Josh Heupel decided to roll the dice with a play-action call, which the Bama defense was more than ready for. Joey Aguilar fired off a bad ball and Zabien Brown was there to make him pay for it in the worst way possible for the Vols.
Josh Heupel isn't the only Tennessee coach fans are livid with after loss to Bama
Shortly after the final whistle, Heupel cleared things up on what went wrong there. While he didn't put things on Aguilar for his INT, he added that Tennessee made that play call coming out of the Alabama timeout. So, you saw their formation beforehand, and then didn't have an in-moment adjustment ready just to be on the safe side?
Heupel on the play call at the end of the first half: They understand the situation, as well. You’ve got to be accurate with the ball. I’m not putting it on Joey (Aguilar), either.
— GoVols247 (@GoVols247) October 19, 2025
We made that (play call) choice after the timeout.
Tennessee football fans are not happy with Josh Heupel after a rough night vs Alabama
"End of the first half, nine seconds, no timeouts, you're left with a decision," Heupel said via reporter Ben McKee of GoVols247. "Do you want two opportunities or one? So we got a little play action. He leaves the ball inside a bit and it goes back for six. Big play in the football game for sure."
The clock management at the end of the first half was also brutal, and Tennessee didn't have any timeouts left with nine seconds on the clock in the second quarter. Heupel indeed took a bit of a risk by throwing the ball, which was fine.
However, the formation Tennessee was lined up in was a joke. With no timeouts left, the Bama defense had to know that the Vols were going to throw the ball. No one bit on the play-action and Aguilar's ball needed to be in a perfect spot for a TD to be recorded for the visiting team. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
Brown was on the money with his feet and he also showed sure hands on his interception. He then sprinted his way down the field and Tuscaloosa lost its collective mind on the reservations for six he had. Back in Knoxville, hearts were surely broken.
Give credit to Bama head man Kalen DeBoer and his staff for putting their players in the best position possible to make a game-changing play and come out with a win. The same simply can't be said for Heupel, Tim Banks and the rest of the Tennessee staff.