Tennessee might handle failure better than success. If so, it still could end up in the College Football Playoff.
The Vols responded to their first loss, 20-17 to Texas, by winning three consecutive SEC games. Another comparable run could carry them through their next three games against Kentucky, Texas A&M and LSU.
Then, just win the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt, and you are playoff-worthy with a 10-2 record.
That’s easy to write. Doing it is more difficult. Tennessee’s last-second 27-24 loss to South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 24 was proof of that.
I foolishly thought the Vols wouldn’t fall victim to the trend that has plagued so many other nationally ranked SEC teams this season. South Carolina had other ideas.
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Miss beat LSU and got hammered by Florida. The Gators got waylaid by Missouri. The Tigers followed that up by losing decisively to Ole Miss.
And so it has gone: Success followed by failure; highs followed by lows.
Even Georgia couldn’t handle success. It pulled out a classic win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, only to stumble a week later against Auburn.
So, why did I think Tennessee would be any different after having its way with Alabama at Neyland Stadium? Because I believed in Jim Knowles’ defense. In a volatile SEC season, his defense — even in a loss to Texas — hadn’t wavered.
I expected more of the same against South Carolina. Instead, Tennessee delivered something quite different. Nonetheless, despite all of its mistakes and all the scores it lost through penalties, it still had a chance to win the game with defense.
But a week after stonewalling Alabama, Tennessee couldn’t keep quarterback LaNorris Sellers from leading the Gamecocks 61 yards in six plays for a game-tying score.
Tennessee has a proven defense and an elite running back in DeSean Bishop. The coaching matchup — UT’s Josh Heupel versus South Carolina’s Shane Beamer — favored the Vols. And does anyone doubt Tennessee has more NIL money than the Gamecocks?
But sometimes, a dual-threat quarterback as skilled as Sellers can overcome myriad advantages. The Vols got the best version of Sellers. So did Florida two weeks earlier.
In South Carolina’s 38-19 victory over the Gators in The Swamp, Sellers passed for four touchdowns. Against Tennessee, he passed for 210 yards and ran for 96 more.
Tennessee doesn’t have that kind of quarterback. Its success has hinged on Bishop’s running and a staunch defense. Heupel hasn’t asked his quarterbacks — first, freshman Faizon Brandon; then, second-year player George MacIntyre — to win the game. He has asked them not to lose it.
You could say MacIntyre lost the South Carolina game when he lost control of the football as he was jolted by pass rusher Dylan Stewart. That turnover set up the Gamecocks’ game-winning field goal.
It was an awful play, but MacIntyre didn’t play an awful game. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 136 yards, didn’t throw an interception and had multiple touchdown passes wiped out by penalties.
MacIntyre isn’t capable of taking over a game the way Sellers did. But he might have won his fourth consecutive SEC game if Tennessee hadn’t been so undisciplined. It’s hard to win a close game when you lose 90 yards on 12 penalties.
Or, you could say Tennessee lost the South Carolina game way back in January when it failed to land an experienced quarterback in the transfer portal. But there’s nothing it can do about that now.
A strong running game coupled with an even stronger defense was good enough to beat Alabama decisively. And that also might be enough to beat Kentucky, Texas A&M and LSU.
But not if the Vols keep shooting themselves in the foot the way they did against South Carolina.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football needs to show its resilience again after second loss | Adams
