Nichols: Officiating Decided Music City Bowl Outcome, But Vols Will Still Decide Their Own Future Under Heupel
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Let me begin by saying I was at the 2010 Music City Bowl against North Carolina.
What I and so many others witnessed in Purdue’s 48-45 overtime win in the 2021 Music City Bowl was worse than that — by a lot.
To be quite frank, the majority of the words I’d use to describe what unfolded in the final moments can be seen in Josh Heupel’s viral response after officials relayed their decision regarding the forward progress call that will live in infamy.
In other (read: Heupel’s) words? “You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me.”
Let’s forget, for a second, the fact that he chose to go for it on multiple fourth-down decisions in overtime when a field goal would have also worked.
Heupel remains the antithesis of Jeremy Pruitt, meaning he has the gumption (read: stones) to make really risky calls in really big situations.
He trusted his guys, good or bad outcome be darned, and the decision paid dividends.
Because Jaylen Wright scored a touchdown.
Point blank. Period. The end.
And after that?
Maybe Aiden O’Connell gets desperate, throws up a fourth pick, and Tennessee wins.
Maybe the Boilermakers create some more magic and again shrug off a UT secondary that looked utterly helpless down the stretch — especially when Payne Durham escaped several white jerseys that stopped in their tracks, only to allow Durham to romp down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown.
Or, maybe Hendon Hooker fires his sixth touchdown of the night, yet another to 1,000-career-yard receiver Cedric Tillman, to help the Vols overcome Purdue’s pluckiness and make Heupel the Vols’ winningest first-year coach since Phillip Fulmer in 1992.
We’ll never know whether any of that could have happened, though, because the same officiating crew that botched a Duke-Miami call years ago used Thursday’s game to make one of the biggest blunders in the history of college football.
And Tennessee had to suffer for it.
The Call Itself
You’ve all seen the tweets by now. Social media has exploded in the hours since the call was made, and almost every take has, in essence, the same answer: “Tennessee was robbed and that was a touchdown.”
When Wright took the ball on the call in question, he kept fighting and churning his legs, which moved over a couple black jerseys and never touched the ground.
The effort he took to reach back toward the goal line, stretch as far as he could and poke the nose of the ball across the plane was so impressive, a fan behind me commented on Wright’s grit alone, touchdown or not.
When Wright was finally brought down, Tennessee’s players celebrated and signaled touchdown. They thought he had scored, and so had everyone else when the play went for review.
Except then, officials upheld their call — stopped short of the goal-line due to forward progress being halted — and the Boilermakers exploded.
Never mind that the play had been blown dead after the ball crossed the goal line, or that Wright’s still-moving legs should have sent a “forward progress” discussion out the window — the ruling was upheld, and that was that.
From that point on, Purdue’s field goal to win felt inevitable. And it was.
The Lead-Up and Aftermath
Now, did Tennessee have to be in this situation in the first place? No.
The Vols seemed to rush their final possession in regulation, and Hooker — who finished with a great stat line but missed several opportunities on an off night — airmailed a couple passes toward Tillman (as he was being held with no call, mind you) before Chase McGrath missed a field goal try to send the game into OT.
Moreover, the Vols had also allowed Purdue back into the game — see Durham’s head-scratching score — with a defensive effort that included several busted coverages, a 16-point swing before halftime and six defensive pass interference calls that all but negated three UT interceptions.
In short, Willie Martinez’s and Tim Banks’ units will need serious examination and overhaul before next season.
And let’s not forget UT’s offense, which stalled out completely in the second quarter after a 21-7 start.
So no, Tennessee did not have to be in that position.
But even with a call that will be debated for years, and mistakes that cannot be ignored, and a slugfest that turned into one of the best games of this entire season, Heupel’s turnaround and this team’s mentality cannot be forgotten.
Were there plays the Vols would like to have back? Sure.
Were there calls Heupel would like to have back? You know it.
Does the competitiveness of this game — four combined touchdowns in the final five minutes with 90 combined points in regulation — make this even more heartbreaking for seniors like Velus Jones, who poured their hearts out for a new coach and deserved a better ending than one decided by an ACC officiating crew? Most definitely.
And should that crew be held accountable in some way, aside from just the press release that will undoubtedly come from this massive mistake? Yep, especially when the official who told Heupel the call couldn’t even seem to look him in the eye.
Again, though — with all that said, one also cannot allow this game and its chaotic ending to diminish the positivity that has radiated through the complete 180 we’ve witnessed from Tennessee this season.
I said this after Tennessee clinched bowl eligibility, and I’ll say it again now — think about where this program was a year ago: mired in questions as a laughingstock in college football, with thoughts of bowl eligibility lightyears away.
Now, think about where this program is now and all the culture changes that have taken place.
Players are excited to play for Tennessee again. Coaches are excited to be around the program. Fans are excited to watch the product that’s put on the field, and they seem even more thrilled with the people these guys are when they’re away from the game.
Even with a stinging end to this year, that paradigm shift is no small feat going into 2022.
That’s an important reminder to keep for the New Year, especially with Hooker, Tillman and so many others set to join forces with a stacked 2022 recruiting class.
And, while I’m not a betting man, I’d say Tennessee has another type of resolution up its sleeve, too:
Never accept another Music City Bowl bid ever again.
Because two of the last three to involve the Vols have been botched beyond comprehension.
