Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel appeared irritated with reporters during his postgame press conference following a loss to Georgia. Heupel appeared in front of media after the game on Saturday, like he always does. When asked about Tennessee penalties that contributed to the loss, Heupel appeared to suggest that the team did not actually commit a penalty.
One incident was when a reporter inquired about a face mask penalty levied against Tennessee.
“Yeah, on the second-and-24?” Heupel responded, per ESPN. The reporter then described the play, prompting Heupel to continue his line of questions.
The coach responded, “What did it look like?” The reporter reported that there appeared to be no face mask and that a player’s helmet simply popped off.
“Can you repeat that?” Heupel spoke.
Heupel maintained his tense manner when questioned further by the press about another call that involved having 12 men on the field. Tennessee football officials quickly halted the press conference. It’s reasonable that the coach would be unhappy after his team lost 31-17 to Georgia on Saturday night.
With the loss, Tennessee football dropped to 8-2 on the season.
Tennessee struggled on defense against Georgia
The Volunteers had a difficult night on defense. Georgia pounded the Tennessee football secondary for 347 passing yards, while the Volunteers allowed 453 total yards of offense.
“We did a lot of the right things in the lead-up to the game tonight,” he remarked. “But what happens on the field will determine tonight. It is the reality of the situation, and it is inherent in being a competitor. Where are we going from here? Allow it to sink in, let it hurt, watch it, learn from it, and get ready for our next opportunity. Do you understand what I mean? We have two more assured, but the only one that counts is next week, so this group will continue to expand.”
Tennessee will have a chance to progress on Saturday when it faces UTEP. The Volunteers must win to stay in the SEC standings and compete for a College Football Playoff berth.
