Tennessee’s late collapses in two of its last three games have Volunteers coach Butch Jones facing the most criticism he’s encountered since taking over the program.
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Head coach Butch Jones watched his Tennessee Volunteers…
But then the wheels, which became really wobbly during a 7-6 season in 2013, came completely off last fall, showing a comical and even risky level of incompetence best exemplified by the mishandling of Shane Morris’ concussion and indecipherable game plans.
Oregon was a preseason top-10 team despite having a transfer quarterback, but nobody seemed to be talking much about the other side of the ball. Razorbacks WR Drew Morgan, who had 10 catches in his first two seasons combined, made eight grabs for 155 yards and a touchdown against Texas A&M.2.
-On dealing with multiple losses at previous schools: You stay the course and be consistent in approach. It’s all about constant and never-ending improvement. You can’t have pre-snap penalties.
“That’s a challenge in today’s world of social media. You have to rely on your older players”. The Vols are coming off Saturday’s fourth quarter collapse against Florida.
“The wins are never as high as the lows of the losses”. They want to run the football on offense, and, obviously, you (want to) stop the run on defense just like our philosophy. The way I approach every game is it’s a must-win. You never forget about the losses. I don’t think they need to worry about booking national semifinal tickets this season. They’ve been very resilient.
Said Jones,”I do. I consider every game a must-win”. That’s the first time that’s been done here in a long time. Arkansas maybe has the best tight end in college football (Hunter Henry).
Tennessee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Arkansas.
Jones also praised Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen, who has thrown for 1,141 yards through four games.
(On using analytics versus gut instincts) “We don’t use analytics during a game. That’s all leading up to the game”, he explained. That is a support system for us. This year’s game could prove to be just as exciting as both teams look to turn it around. That starts on Sunday and goes all the way until Friday morning. Most situations are done that way like with most programs. Now, we know Arkansas is going to come after the punt a few times. “They’ve usually been rehearsed”.
Tennessee is 1-21 against Florida, Georgia and Alabama since 2009.
“It was a gut feel for what we needed at that particular moment at that particular stage of the game in terms of momentum”, he said.
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Jones said wide receiver Alton “Pig” Howard’s status remains uncertain for the Arkansas game. Howard did not travel to the Florida game.
