Tennessee had a real chance to steal momentum before halftime Saturday against No. 1 Texas, but Josh Heupel chose aggression over caution and the gamble came up empty.
With the Vols inside Texas territory and staring at fourth-and-7 from the Longhorns’ 34-yard line, Tennessee kept the offense on the field instead of sending out Cooper Ranvier for a long field goal. The decision came after the two-minute timeout, giving Heupel and his staff an extra moment to weigh the situation. Tennessee still stuck with the plan, and freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon went deep to junior receiver Braylon Staley on the left sideline.
The throw didn’t connect. Texas sophomore defensive back Graceson Littleton got a hand on the pass to break it up, and the Longhorns took over on downs with 1:54 left in the first half.
"Ultimately, it's my call," Heupel said. "We've got confidence in Coop.
Just where it was at, the wind and structurally what we felt like we would see. Felt like we had a good play."
The sequence capped a 15-play, 58-yard march that ate 6:35 off the clock, only to leave Tennessee empty-handed. If Heupel had gone for the kick, Ranvier would have been trying from a little more than 50 yards out.
Staley wanted a flag on the play, arguing for pass interference after fighting through contact from Littleton as he went for a diving catch near the goal line. No penalty came, and Tennessee headed to the locker room down 10-3.
That drive was one of only two first-half possessions that carried the Vols into Texas territory. Tennessee’s first series produced points, but only three of them. The Vols opened with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that reached the Longhorns’ 15-yard line before Ranvier, the Louisville transfer, drilled a 33-yard field goal.
The late-half possession started with Tennessee backed up at its own 8-yard line, but the Vols kept moving after a 4-yard run by Daune Morris on third-and-1 and a 10-yard run by Brandon. A sack by Texas star edge Colin Simmons looked like it might kill the drive, but Simmons was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after taking Brandon down on third-and-13, and that penalty kept Tennessee alive.
From there, the Vols stacked up three more first downs in five plays and finally worked their way into Texas territory. It was Tennessee’s longest drive of the game by both plays and time, but it still ended with nothing to show for it.
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