Just one (1) reason I am pissed

[PirateVOL]

[PirateVOL]

One of the nine (9) flops
https://twitter.com/i/status/1476694259810111495

[Coupe De VOL]

In all my 40+ years of watching football intensely - I have NEVER seen a play like this at the goal line ruled forward motion stopped.  And to boot - THE WHISTLE BLEW AFTER THE BALL WAS IN THE EZ - THAT IS A FACT. 

I just don't see how the press can spin this as a bad break for the Vols.

It was a blown call.... PERIOD. 

[Black Diamond Vol]

The official explanation from the Very Intelligent Football Guys is that the play is dead when the ref determines it’s dead, and the whistle doesn’t matter.

Now read that again. And again. Think it through. Starting to see the problem here?

[Coupe De VOL]

The official explanation from the Very Intelligent Football Guys is that the play is dead when the ref determines it’s dead, and the whistle doesn’t matter.

Now read that again. And again. Think it through. Starting to see the problem here?

That is exactly right!  I have seen that argument over and over tonite - mostly put out by obvious "vile" haters and the like.  It is like speaking double speak.  I really do not see any valid reason why this was not reviewed.  I just don't buy the "it's totally at the discretion on one particular crew member" argument.  It makes ZERO sense to me.  Plus, I have never seen that kind of ruling used this way.  I have only seen it used for a ball carrier on their feet.  NEVER on one who is on their way down.  THis is just absurd to the max.  I was pretty livid at the time and was kind of pissed Heupel didn't go nuclear on the referee of the crew. 

[Tnphil]

Fant could have been called for pulling the ball carrier.....You can push not pull. But UT is always screwed by the refs somehow.

UT should have been up 2-3 TDs on Purdue and never gone to OT. UT is a long way from being top 4th of the conference and so is Heupel's coaching.

[tshadow]

This is not the first time this season the refs chose to make the forward progress rule retroactive  (for us) which of course it is NOT! The forward progress rule was intended to stop potential injury... The actual end of the play is upon the whistle. If they allow the play to continue they bastardize the reason for the forward progress rule when they reach into the past and impose it (especially when they ignore the whistle). Everyone knows and it is drummed into the heads of the players that the play stops on the whistle! They (these refs) are wrong and full of HOT AIR.

[tshadow]

I'll rephrase my position by asking this question... How many injuries can be prevented by retroactively imposing the forward progress rule? (hint: NONE, ZIP, ZILTCH, NADA, ZERO)!

[BanditVol]

Fant could have been called for pulling the ball carrier.....You can push not pull. But UT is always screwed by the refs somehow.

UT should have been up 2-3 TDs on Purdue and never gone to OT.

Very true, should have been a relatively easy win. However as I drove around Knoxville today (visiting for holidays) I heard the pregame and every single talking head was supremely overconfident predicting a Vol blowout, pretty much guaranteeing a win. I might have been on board with that, but I saw our defense all year, and it got worse at the end of the season, not better.  I figured it would be relatively close, but the Vols would win. 

Purdue I think also has been underrated. They did beat two (however overrated) top five teams (at the time) in MSU and Iowa. 

Still and yet, Vols had numerous chances to put them away and just constantly blew it. I am very disappointed in this effort.

Having said that,one of the last thing one of the talking heads (maybe Ainge or Swain?) said on the pregame show was that the Vols got blown out in a bowl in 2006, then came back and destroyed Cal in the opener because they were pissed off about the bowl game all offseason.  Maybe that can be a silver lining.

[JeffCountyVolFan]

Fant could have been called for pulling the ball carrier.....You can push not pull. But UT is always screwed by the refs somehow.

UT should have been up 2-3 TDs on Purdue and never gone to OT. UT is a long way from being top 4th of the conference and so is Heupel's coaching.

I really can't disagree with much of this.

There is a significant problem with the rule in question, imo.  It is possible that the official actually thought that forward progress had been stopped.  I've been in those stripes and it is not an exact science.  The problem, as I see it, is that instant replay is supposedly designed to get it right and overturn calls which were errors.  This particular rule does not allow review to even consider the fact that an error was made and it bit us twice this season.

All that said, I don't think we should ever have been in OT.

As I've said before, this team has exceeded my expectations.  For the first time in a long time, I feel like we could be headed in the right direction.  The problem is that we are miles and miles from our destination. 

Go VOLS!!!!

[PirateVOL]

Fant could have been called for pulling the ball carrier.....You can push not pull. But UT is always screwed by the refs somehow.

UT should have been up 2-3 TDs on Purdue and never gone to OT. UT is a long way from being top 4th of the conference and so is Heupel's coaching.

I agree on Fant pulling
OTOH, that would have been a penalty and repeating 4th down (thought through that on the drive back).  I would suspect that we might have kicked a FG it that had occured

However, it appeared to me that the play calling in the OT was based on a belief that we could not stop them on defense.

[BanditVol]

I really can't disagree with much of this.

There is a significant problem with the rule in question, imo.  It is possible that the official actually thought that forward progress had been stopped.  I've been in those stripes and it is not an exact science.  The problem, as I see it, is that instant replay is supposedly designed to get it right and overturn calls which were errors.  This particular rule does not allow review to even consider the fact that an error was made and it bit us twice this season.

All that said, I don't think we should ever have been in OT.

As I've said before, this team has exceeded my expectations.  For the first time in a long time, I feel like we could be headed in the right direction.  The problem is that we are miles and miles from our destination. 

Go VOLS!!!!

Sloppy game by Vols with some questioanable coaching calls that should, absolutely, have been a W.

But as you point out, this is a better season than anyone expected.

The concern going forward is obviously the defense. No one will likely ever be concerned about offense under Heupel but our defense went backwards from midsesson and just flat stunk last night.

Need to hit the portal hard I guess, and hope that Banks defenses do better in the second season.