Vols Will Learn To Finish

By Randy Sharber | Sep 15, 2015

The Vols will learn to finish games.

Playing winning football is a process. As soon as Joshua Dobbs last pass in the second overtime of the Oklahoma was secured by a Sooner, I said that Tennessee would benefit more by the loss than they would have with a win. I believe that. I think.

Yes, this is the second time this has happened to Coach Butch Jones, his team, and the Tennessee fans. Last season the Florida Gators came in and did the exact same thing. Tennessee dominated for three quarters, and watched the Gators make a fourth quarter comeback. Now, it can not happen again.

The Vols can use this loss as a springboard to an SEC East Championship. I agree with Jones that progress was made. It is not coach speak. Last season the Vols were throttled by Oklahoma. At no point in last year’s game was Tennessee better at any position in that game. Tennessee was better than Oklahoma for 3 quarters this year. That is progress any way you spin it.

Believe me. Coach Jones will learn from this himself. I believe his teams are very well prepared. He prepares for about everything that can come up. I am not sure he was prepared for what happened in Neyland on Saturday. It is easy to prepare a team to never quit when behind. It is what Sports in general teaches you.

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But playing from in front? Well, Tennessee has not been in many games with teams that are equal to, or better where they have led. Two to be exact. Two losses. As a fan I always get nervous when Tennessee jumps out in front. I was even glad to see Bowling Green go down and hit a field goal on their first possession. My feeling was that now Tennessee knew it was in a ballgame.

Coach Jones and his staff talk to their kids daily about getting better with each rep in practice. Coach Jones and staff need to get better each game. Winning is a process for them as well. Yes, they have won everywhere they have gone, but not at this level.

They will learn that no lead is insurmountable. Again, I guarantee you the team is programmed to not quit. But are they programmed to have the discipline to play with confidence and fun when ahead? Do they have that mind set of we have to finish this team now, and go do that with all that they have in their physical being? No. They play tight. They play conservative. They play scared.

It was obvious Dobbs was more worried about making a mistake than he was about making a play. That is a fine line. You may not want your quarterback trying to make a play from their own end zone in a game where you lead by two scores, but you will want your quarterback to feel he has the green light to try and make a play from midfield on in this situation.

I saw the message boards after the game. I saw the facebook posts of many Vol fans. Most comments made about this staff and team were absolutely stupid. There was enough blame to go around. Tennessee had plenty of opportunities to win that game.

Medley missed a 48 yarder. That is not a gimme by any means, but in a game like this you have to make that one. No blame, just a fact. I couldn’t kick an extra point, so I am not calling him out. Just making a point that it was there for the Vols to win. If that goes through, game over.

Ellis dropped an easy touchdown when Dobbs broke containment and hit him right in the hands. You pretty much have to catch that one. On a crucial third down on the very next play, another one went off of the tight end’s hands when he was wide open in the flat. The plays were there, you have to make them. I’ll bet he doesn’t have another drop all season. He will make that catch 10 out of 10 times.

The late holding call on third down that allowed the Oklahoma offense to continue their scoring drive would have been avoided if the covey of Vols that had Oklahoma quarterback by the legs could have managed to get him to the ground. These are plays that must be made. They just didn’t.

No, winning is a process. It is a learned attitude. But you have to learn it the hard way sometimes. Derek Barnett said it best in the locker room after the game. ” We will win when we deserve to win”. That shows me there is big time hope for this team. When you have guys like that, I like Tennessee’s chances the rest of this season.

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