Is it time to hit the panic button on Tennessee's offense?

Tennessee's offense laid an egg in back-to-back SEC games to open conference play. It's not unusual for that to happen in Josh Heupel's offense, but it is concerning that it has happened in both true road games the Vols have played to start the season. 

The Vols were up 22-3 in the fourth quarter when they went into conservative mode against Oklahoma. Heupel pulled back and leaned on his defense to get the job done, and they did, but he didn't fix the issues Tennessee's offense might have ahead of the Arkansas game. 

Heupel went conservative again in the fourth quarter against Arkansas. The difference: the Vols were only leading by one point. The Razorbacks had their backup quarterback in, but that's when Tennessee should've gone for the kill shot and put pressure on him instead of keeping the pressure on your defense. 

So, is it time to hit the panic button on the Tennessee offense? Not yet, and it's definitely not time to hit the panic button on Nico Iamaleava. He's a freshman quarterback who started in his sixth game and struggled to move the ball on the road in front of a hostile crowd. 

With how the offense operated throughout the night, it looked like Nico was not set up for success for most of the game. Playcalling played into what the Arkansas defense wanted to do. Arkansas was able to keep the ball in front of them, with a majority of Tennessee's plays being runs or screens. 

Nico didn't play a terrible game. Did he miss some throws? Yes. Did the receivers drop some catchable passes? Also, yes. Could the playcalling have been more offensive rather than playing it safe? Absolutely yes. 

This loss isn't on Nico, but it seems like offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and Heupel's call sheet has gotten significantly smaller when Tennessee plays a quality opponent. They open it up against Chattanooga and Kent State but pull back against Oklahoma and Arkansas. 

We've seen Tennessee's offense run the same way it did last night and put up 50 against inferior opponents. The offense is capable of being the most explosive in the country. However, it is also susceptible to being allergic to moving the football on the road and in clutch situations.

It's not time to hit the panic button yet, but it is time to hit the panic button on offensive playcalling. Heupel and the coaching staff need to set Nico up for success rather than hold him back. He has the arm and legs capable of leading one of the most explosive offenses in the country if the coaching staff will let him.