Josh Heupel reveals key Georgia coaching moves, wants Tennessee to ‘soak in’ loss

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josh Heupel is looking to build off the Tennessee’s best effort against Georgia since he became the Vols’ head coach.

The No. 6-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 15-ranked Tennessee, 44-41 in overtime, in a game that featured five lead changes in the second half of a game that featured nearly 1,000 yards of offense (998).

“I think the disappointment of tonight can be a moment,” said Heupel, who is now 0-5 against Kirby Smart’s Georgia team since becoming the Vols’ head coach. “(It’s) something in our journey together that can springboard and propel us if we choose to use it that way.”

Georgia coach Kirby Smart was the first to admit after the game that, while proud of his Bulldogs, “Tennessee deserved to win.”

It’s a long season, and Tennessee has the look of a team that could still make the 12-team College Football Playoff field if it can continue to have success over its other primary rivals, Alabama and Florida.

Heupel had a chance to add the third crown jewel to his rivalry crown against Georgia with Max Gilbert lined up for a potential game-winning 43-yard field goal with three seconds left and the scored tied 38-38.

Gilbert’s kick sailed wide, however, and the Bulldogs’ talented defense asserted itself in overtime and Georgia’s run game kicked in.

“As a specialist, sometimes your life gets showcased in a way where you get very limited opportunities,” Heupel said of his kicker’s miss. “I love the fact that he came back over time, drains it. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the one before, but he had his head high. And that’s the life of being a kicker, you know what I mean?

“And I love the way he responded. He’ll continue to grow and we got great trust in him. Unfortunately, he didn’t finish that one.”

The Vols were unable to generate any offense on their overtime possession and were forced to settle for a 42-yard Gilbert field goal to go up 41-38 before UGA tailback Nate Frazier broke off a 21-yard run to set up a first-and-goal at the 4 that led to two Josh McCray power runs, a 3-yarder and then the game-winning 1-yard plunge.

Heupel lamented Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator Mike Bobo setting up Frazier’s run, which was the longest of the day for Georgia.

“Give Georgia credit for finishing it the way that you need to win that game,” Heupel said. “….. they hit us with a heavy set and scissor zone and we didn’t have it gapped out or lost the edge on it.

“…. it’s just small details, and that’s what makes a game like this. You’re playing good competition. Your coaches, the game within the game, throughout the game, adjustments.”

Heupel’s team scored first for the fifth consecutive time in the series, and his transfer quarterback, Joey Aguilar, looked unstopped in the first quarter, completing his first 14 passes for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Vols raced to a 21-7 lead.

“Well, he came out and played within himself, made plays early,” Heupel said. “Got it to guys that can go make plays. When it wasn’t going good in the second quarter, man. Super calm demeanor, like great energy, sideline demeanor, all that. So there’s a lot to love in this football game.”

It was the first time Heupel’s Tennessee team scored more than 17 points in a game against Georgia, and the first time since Heupel’s first Vols’ team, in 2021, had a quarterback throw for a touchdown or 200 yards in a game against a Smart-coached defense.

Aguilar finished 24-of-36 passing for 371 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, and he was sacked only once.

Heupel essentially tipped his cap to Smart for forcing him into a conservative mode in the fourth quarter after a Gunner Stockton fumble put Tennessee in position to put the game away.

The Vols, after taking over at the UGA 34-yard line up 35-30, ran the ball on three consecutive plays after continuing to air it out against a Georgia defense that was on its heels much of the fourth quarter.

“It’s a situation where they’re in the two-high bracket coverage,” Heupel said, explaining how Georgia’s defensive alignment led to him going conservative with run plays. “We obviously don’t pick up what we need to. We get behind the chains. And I was willing to be aggressive there if we got to a fourth down, too, had a little trap play, and end up losing inside on it and we don’t pick it up and end up having to kick.”

Heupel, a former national championship quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up while a player at Oklahoma, wants his team to process the defeat in proper fashion.

“Man, soak this baby in tonight, let it hurt, same thing tomorrow,” Heupel said. “And for the players, the coaches will learn lessons and move forward early tomorrow. And when the players come back in on Monday, it’s— whether you win or lose, man, it’s about how you got to get better.

“And we take the lessons from this one, use the disappointment to propel us. They have even greater focus and urgency. We got a chance to be a good football team and continue to get better. And that’s what we have to do to be a team that we’re capable of.”

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