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Tennessee has struggled on 4th down this season, and that was the case again versus Alabama on Saturday.
The Vols were 0-for-3 on 4th down conversions, and they came up empty in some critical moments.
When asked if Josh Heupel takes analytics into account when making a decision, he clarified that it does play a part, but at the end of the day it’s a coaching decision.
“It’s a portion of the process, but it’s not the end all be all,” Heupel said in his press conference Monday. “It hasn’t been anytime we’ve had analytics as being a part of it.”
The struggles come down to nothing more than a lack of execution. Alabama stuffed Tennessee each time it tried to pick up a 4th and short on Saturday.
“At the end of the day, coaches and players gotta be better in those situations and we’ve gotta go pick up the first down,” Heupel said. “2 critical first downs that we don’t pick up.”
Heupel was also asked if he would consider using the “tush push” on 4th and short that the Philadelphia Eagles have made popular in the NFL. He didn’t give a direct answer, but hinted that it might be a formation the Vols look into.
“We’ve used a lot of different formations,” Heupel said. “We have to find a way to go get the first down.”
