COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel pointed to costly penalties, missed assignments and an inability to finish Saturday after the Vols fell 27-24 to South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Tennessee overcame an early 14-point deficit and led late in the fourth quarter, but South Carolina tied the game with 1:17 remaining. A George MacIntyre fumble on the ensuing possession set up the Gamecocks’ winning field goal as time expired.
The Vols were penalized 12 times for 90 yards, with several infractions wiping out touchdowns. Heupel emphasized the need for greater discipline while also addressing the failed fourth-down conversion, MacIntyre’s development, and Tennessee’s defensive performance against LaNorris Sellers.
Everything Josh Heupel said after the loss:
Opening statement
Josh Heupel: “Give credit to South Carolina. They made plays down the stretch that put them in position to win the football game. For us, guys competed hard. We didn’t play smart enough offensively. Penalties just crushed us. You let a good football team hang around on the road, it’s got a chance to bite you, and it sure did at the end.”
On what happened during Tennessee’s failed fourth-down play
Heupel: “Missteps by George on that one.”
On Tennessee’s 12 penalties for 90 yards and how the team becomes more disciplined
Heupel: “Everybody’s got to take ownership of alignment, assignment, and it starts there. And then technique. Holding fouls out on the perimeter at the end. Knew that this crew called it tight out on the perimeter, too. So, it’s everybody taking ownership of it.”
On keeping the team encouraged with the College Football Playoff still a possibility
Heupel: “There’s a lot of teams that get themselves in the playoffs that finish strong. Give credit to South Carolina. There’s a lot of things that we’re in control of. Our guys compete hard. We’ve got to play smarter, and the postseason’s a long ways away. We need to get healthy, improve this week, and then we’ve got a really good Kentucky team coming to town. Every week’s a new season in this league. You guys have heard me say that. You’ve got to line up and be the best team on the field that Saturday.”
On how penalties disrupted Tennessee’s offensive consistency
Heupel: “It changes the way the game’s played. You look at the first series of the game. You’re in third-and-6 instead of third-and-1. But there’s so many things throughout the course of the game that change it. Some of it penalties, some of it assignment soundness. We’ve got to continue to grow, and we’ve got to grow fast offensively.”
On the alignment penalties that erased Tennessee touchdowns
Heupel: “We’ve got to be off the ball on that, and then just had a missed assignment on what he was supposed to do there.”
On Tennessee’s ability to contain South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers
Heupel: “He affected and changed the way the game was played on some of the drives. There were some things that we did really good bottling him up. There’s some things that we let him escape the pocket on some critical plays that allowed them to continue some drives.”
On whether Tennessee’s penalties reflected a lack of attention to detail
Heupel: “Listen, we’re in this thing together. It’s everybody together.”
On the decision to go for fourth down late in the game
Heupel: “Thought we had something that we could pick up a first down and sustain it and drain the clock there.”
On helping George MacIntyre move forward after his late mistakes
Heupel: “Hard. As a quarterback, some of those things you feel responsible and are responsible for. But you’ve got to learn, grow, and continue to improve. Everybody’s got to learn from some of the things. It’s the nature of the game.”
