Just last week, I complimented my literary contributors for their ability to alter opinions based on results. They did it again after Tennessee football’s humbling 27-24 loss to South Carolina on Oct. 24.
A week after showering their Vols with praise, my fellow wordsmiths darkened their tone. And in the darkest of Tennessee days, it’s best to have Chris batting leadoff.
Moments after the South Carolina loss:
Chris writes: That was coaching malpractice at its finest, and thus why I don’t spend money to watch the Vols in person.
People making millions that don’t have a clue. Whatever.
An hour later:
Chris writes: John, I will not watch another game this year after this. I will keep up and follow, but after the South Carolina game, Josh Heupel has moved
into Butch Jones territory.
And just FYI, UT will beat UK, but it doesn’t matter because the Vols won’t finish the job.
My response: I’m sure other Tennessee fans will be encouraged by your optimism about the Kentucky game.
Sir James writes: After 12 years, you would think I would learn. I call Tennessee the "Teasers" because it lures you into thinking that just maybe they might be something special, only to let you down time and again.
I like Coach Heupel. He’s a good coach but will never be a great coach. His teams lack intensity, and he is too tolerant of stupid mistakes and penalties.
The best coaches – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, and Urban Meyer − would never tolerate some of the mistakes the Vols make.
Hard to be a Vols fan.
My response: Your “teasers” line has stood the test of time. If you want to feel better about what’s to come for the Vols, I can send you Chris’ email address.
Jimmy writes: GeorgeMacIntyre choked the fourth-down handoff, then fumbled to lose the game. His ceiling is too low to lead this team far.
The defense couldn’t save the game with a stop when South Carolina drove for the tying touchdown. This was truly a disgusting loss.
Look for losses to Kentucky, LSU and maybe Texas A&M. 8-4 or 7-5. We are back to “wait for next year.”
My response: Glad to see you’re looking to the future. Tennessee football fans are best served by favoring the future over the past, unless they’re looking all the way back to 1998.
Colorado Mark writes: Does Hype use Chat GPT as his source for excuses? He seems to have enough to last him long into the future.
One thing is certain, neither he nor his OC will ever accept the blame or take some portion of responsibility for the losses.
Maybe, if the players were coached to quit acting like fools celebrating one good play and focus on not making stupid penalties, the losses would turn into wins. Just a wild thought.
My response: Those celebrations could be a carryover from the Butch Jones era. He always stressed the importance of celebrating life’s small victories.
John writes: Sure, MacIntyre lost the ball. But it was Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle that put him in that position. All the Vols had to do was run the dang ball.
My response: I agree. Tennessee should have run the ball, run out the clock and taken its chances in overtime.
However, the way South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was dominating UT’s defense, the Vols likely would have lost in overtime.
Mike writes: Were all the Vols penalties, especially at crucial times, legitimate penalties or was there some "homecooking" going on here?
My response: Watching the replays, I thought a couple of the calls were borderline, but not egregious – nothing like the pass interference that wasn’t called against Georgia in its win over Alabama a few weeks ago.
The most crucial mistakes were committed by the Vols, not the officials.
Phil writes: Thank you for your astute assessment. However, how do you think the par excellence officiating affected the outcome?
My response: I have never seen so many touchdowns called back against one team in the same game. But my conspiracy theories are limited to the JFK assassination.
I might think differently if I had invested money in Tennessee against the Gamecocks.
Doug writes: False starts, illegal receivers downfield, holding; just a lack of discipline that led to three touchdowns being taken off the board and, ultimately, cost us the South Carolina game.
I still think Heupel is a very good coach and am glad he is our coach. I think he could take the next step toward becoming a "great" coach by finding a way to significantly cut down on penalties.
My response: If you believe Heupel can become a great coach, I would highly recommend that you don’t read future emails from Chris.
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: Readers rip Josh Heupel, Tennessee football after loss to South Carolina | Adams
