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There are some losses in sports that haunt you forever. For me, watching the Texas Rangers lose game seven of the 2011 World Series after losing in 2010 crushed me. I had tears down my face in public. I didn’t think there could be a loss that would hurt as much as losing back-to-back World Series until Saturday night.
Saturday started off great. I was up early to bake for the Sunday’s tailgate at FedEx while my twin brother was in Knoxville to watch the 19th ranked Sooners play under the lights against the 23rd ranked Vols. I even got a surprise phone call from Tony Basilio himself to ask me if the entertainment from Barney Boy was real life. Calhoun’s on the river has the best tailgate and the fans were ready.
Neyland Stadium was the loudest it has ever been and the best fans in college pulled off another #CheckerNeyland. The Vols were 17-3 at halftime. I had chills watching the game. And then Butch Jones gave up 17 straight points; 14 points were in the 4th quarter! You can blame it on terrible calls by the refs and you can blame it on the awful play calling in the second half, but you cannot blame it on the UT players. They played their hearts out and they deserved to win.
Who made the decision to kick a field goal on 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line on their first offensive possession instead of rushing for the touchdown? Karama only had 4 carries the entire game? Snapping the ball with 25 seconds left on the clock? That is terrible game management when you have the lead!!! COME ON, Coach Jones!! You are better than this! Your players are better than this! Your fans have been through enough heartbreak to continue to relive this nightmare, over and over again.
It was not just a W in the season; it was about a W for the program. Tennessee has lost 28 out of 29 games against ranked opponents. The game on was in the national spot light and Coach Jones blew it!! Butch Jones made history with the largest blown lead in Neyland stadium.
Through 27 games, Butch Jones has the same 13-14 record as Derek Dooley! WTBLEEEEEP? How is this possible? How is Coach Jones so great at everything else and yet he fails during the big moment? If we lost to Florida, again is the Butch Jones era over? Do we need a new offensive coordinator to call the plays?
Tony said it best on this 5th quarter radio show by saying its tough love for Coach Jones. We are better than this, we deserve better than this!
Saturday night is another that has left my brain numb and my heart broken. I had to go to the bathroom and mentally tell myself to hold it together. I wanted to scream and cry, but mostly it just hurt. It still hurts and this loss will hurt for a long, long time.