The Vols rolled into Tuscaloosa for the “Third Saturday in October” rivalry with a No. 2 ranked offense tag and pumped to try and snap their 2 decade long losing streak at Bryant-Denny Stadium, but it just wasn’t in the cards for Josh Heupel. The Alabama got the best of Vols in their 37-20 dub. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the Big Orange faithful.

Josh Heupel and Tennessee Volunteers faced their second defeat of their season at the hands… of their own play-calling and game strategy. On October 18th, Josh Heupel hopped onto a podium and looked more disappointed than usual and called out the problem : “Disappointing result. Ultimately, self-inflicted wounds affected a lot of our drives.”According to Josh Heupel, Tennessee shot on their own foot in worst possible way, especially deep in Alabama’s Territory.

The most scrutinized moment came just before halftime, with Tennessee at the one-yard line, no timeouts left, and 9 seconds remaining. The score was Alabama 16-7. Instead of running the ball like any normal play-caller, they went full Pete Carroll mode — a play-action pass was called, which resulted in a 99-yard pick-six by a Mater Dei product Zabien Brown. That pick six killed the Tennessee chances of making the comeback.

Josh Heupel summed it up in their loss in 5 words: “We lost in the details tonight.” Can’t disagree. Tennessee’s offensive struggles went beyond just that one play. The play-calling was fallible and very unusual against Kalen DeBoer’s defense. Although Vols outgained Alabama 410-373 in total yards, they only managed to score 20 points. The Offense were plagued by drive-killing penalties and repeatedly failed to score in the red zone. The Vols could only convert 2 of their 5 red zone opportunities. Pretty bad for Vols high-tempo reputation.

Even with setbacks, Vols offense put up some numbers. Joey Aguilar threw for 268 yards and DeSean Bishop ran for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. All due respect, the offense balled, but couldn’t ball in clutch plays.With this fresh L, the Vols are now 5-2 this season, with a 2-2 record in SEC play. Josh Heupel will hop back on a flight to face Mark Stoops’ Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in Lexington.

Tennessee Insider demands to fire DC Tim Banks for today’s performance

Tennessee fans are really disappointed with how the football team’s defense has been playing this season. On October 18th, Tennessee insider, Jake and Ball hopped onto X and straight up went for Tim Banks’ hotseat: “Josh Heupel has GOT to move off Tim Banks this offseason. No ifs, no ands, no buts. No more conversations should be had on the matter.” Tim Banks is getting most of the blame because his unit has struggled badly, especially in a big game against Alabama. The players often looked confused, missed tackles, and couldn’t stop Alabama’s offense from moving the ball and scoring easily.

This poor defensive play isn’t new — it’s been happening for several weeks. Tennessee’s defense has allowed a lot of points in recent games, like 31 to Arkansas, 34 to Mississippi State, and 44 to Georgia. Against Alabama, the Vols couldn’t get key stops on third down, and costly penalties made things worse. When Alabama went for it on fourth down late in the game and easily converted, it showed just how little confidence the Tide had in Tennessee’s defense being able to stop them.

Last year, some thought Banks might leave for another coaching job, but when he stayed, fans were excited. Now, that excitement has turned into frustration because the defense hasn’t improved and continues to give up big plays. Both Josh Heupel and Tim Banks had a rough game against Alabama, and the pressure is growing for them to turn things around quickly.