Everything Josh Heupel Said Following Tennessee Football's Loss vs. Texas

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel spoke to the media following the Volunteers' first loss of the 2026 season to the #1-ranked Texas Longhorns. The Vols lost to the Longhorns in a 20-17 game that came down to a failed Hail Mary attempt thrown by Faizon Brandon as time expired. Tennessee had a good showing defensively, but struggled on the offensive end, totaling just 221 yards as they fell to 0-1 in SEC play and 3-1 overall.

Here's what coach Heupel had to say.

Opening Statement

"Um, start by just saying our fans were phenomenal today. Uh we walked in the stadium at I don't know 9:30 and it's 40% full. Uh it is unbelievable environment. um they're the best and uh thank them and uh sorry that uh that we didn't have a better better execution to come away with the win. Um credit to Texas. Um you know, good football team. Um love the effort. Uh how we played defensively. a lot of our special teams uh offensively just not not anywhere close to to being good enough to to beat a team like this. Uh and it's everybody will have a hand in it. Um when we go back on uh on Monday with the tape with the guys uh but uh up front not good enough. Uh quarterback not good enough. Um everybody's got a hand in it and uh ultimately uh we got to be better. So, I I do love how the team continued to fight, play, play to the last play. Um, we didn't play smart enough, but uh I'll take the effort, uh, of playing the next play and continuing to fight till the the clock ticks zero," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What Led to Tennessee Giving Up 10 Sacks

"It'll be a bunch of uh of everything. Um you know, O line's got to be uh better. Um can be better. Um you know, at times we're giving up pressure off of chips. Um uh protection um and uh we got to be able to to execute that better. Uh there's times quarterback uh eyes, decision making, um not not getting rid of it when there's opportunities to get rid of it. And uh you combine all of that together and you play good personnel on the other side, it you just can't win that way," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on if He Saw Anything Different or Surprising From Texas's Defense

"Nothing extremely out of the ordinary of, you know, presentations that u that they had had shown. Uh there were some subtleties, but nothing that uh we shouldn't have been able to adjust. Um but you know, the execution uh just not there," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What He Was Looking for on Tennessee's Final Possession

“I’m not sure which play you’re talking about. If it was after Braylon (Staley’s) initial catch, we weren’t pushing it way deep down the football field. Trying to get a catch and run. We were still playing at the time, at that time, to go score. Obviously, there’s a scramble that you can’t take a sack on. There’s a lot of teachable moments in this one down the stretch. Collectively, we’ve got to do better," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What Tennessee Was Trying to Do on the Final Play

“The last one was trying to get the ball snapped," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on the Decision to go for it on fourth-and-7 at the Texas 34 Late in the Second Quarter

“Ultimately it’s my call. We got confidence in Coop (Cooper Ranvier), just where it was at, the wind, and structurally, what we felt like we would see. We felt like we had a good play," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What He Liked About Tennessee’s Defense in the Loss

“I thought the line of scrimmage controlled the game. Bottled up their run game for the most part. The fourth quarter, they hit us on a couple consistent runs. In that last drive, they applied pressure to the quarterback. There was a lot to like there," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on How Faizon Brandon Was Doing Physically After Being Injured in the First Quarter and Taking so Many Hits in the Game

“Yeah, obviously, the medical staff went and checked him. He was able to come back healthy, ready to play. Down the stretch he took some shots, too. He’s disappointed. I’m not talking about the injury, just not playing up to the standard for us offensively. But it’s all 11 together, too," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What Gives Him the Confidence to Say Tennessee’s Offensive Line can Get Better

“Ultimately, we’ll decide what we’re going to be. We’ve got to fix what’s correctable, learn from it, grow from it. It’s what you have to do every week, whether you win or lose. And everybody’s got to take ownership. I’ve got to take ownership, staff, everybody, certainly the players, too. We’ve got to get better from it," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on the Growth of the Defense After Hiring Jim Knowles

“We’re playing a good offensive football team. They’re good up front, their offensive line. They’re good at skill spots. And they’ve got a good quarterback. They put the performance together today the way that they did, you have a real chance to go win a football game," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What He Learned in the First SEC Game of the Season

“There’s going to be a bunch of things that we’ve got to correct. I do love the makeup of continuing to fight and compete. It wasn’t pretty offensively, but they continued to fight and play down the stretch. We just got to play a lot smarter,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Faizon Brandon’s Confidence

“Absolutely. Mentally and physically tough. He’ll learn a bunch from this one and be better for it, but he is a resilient and tough kid," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Faizon Brandon not Seeing the Field, Trying to Get Him Better Looks

“There’s some things that he’s going to be able to see or did see even on the iPad. I think early, good opponent, big game, it was sped up just a little bit for him. Then when you start giving up pressure, too, that can speed him up, too. All those things combined were a factor. The 10 other guys around him got to play better, and he’s going to have to play better, too," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on if Faizon Brandon Could Throw Normally After His First Injury

“He was. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have put him back in," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Offensive Lineman Wendell Moe Jr. Leaving Early With a Injury

“I don’t have an update for you on that one or where he’ll be at," Heupel said

Josh Heupel on Playing Smarter Offensively

“The quarterback, there’s going to be times where I got to get it in the dirt and find another play. Can’t take a sack, can’t scramble. Situational football at the end of the game. Us upfront, playing with better fundamentals and technique. All of those things. There’s a lot. There always is, but there will be a lot we have to learn from quickly in this one," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on How This Week Has Been Like With Coach William Inge in the Hospital

“First of all, he’s had small wins here in the late part of the week. It kind of turned serious in the middle part of the week. He’s a fighter. He’s tough. He believes in the power of prayer. We’re lifting him up in prayer. Our fans are, too, I hope. He’s got a real fight on his hands still, but he’s had some positive news. Emotional for everybody inside of our program. At the same time, I thought our guys did a good job of not completely forgetting about what’s going on with him because that’s really important. They were able to focus. We’ve got to be better as a football team. I look forward to seeing him soon," Heupel said.

Send your questions, comments, and hot takes to our email tennesseeonsi@gmail.com for the chance to be featured in an article!

Follow Our Social Media Accounts

• Follow Vols on SI on X (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Facebook (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Instagram (Click HERE)
• Subscribe to Vols on SI on YouTube (Click HERE)

Add us as a preferred source on Google