Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers had a rough 2nd half against Alabama last Saturday.

Tennessee jumped to a 20-7 lead before allowing 27 unanswered points, eventually losing 34-20. The Vols finished with 8 penalties compared to Alabama’s 1 penalty, a major talking point around social media following Week 8’s clash.

The penalty flag that really started the snowball effect happened towards the beginning of the 3rd quarter.

Tennessee’s Cam Seldon returned an Alabama kickoff for a good gain. Nothing crazy, but a good starting point following a 2nd-half-opening score by the Crimson Tide.

However, officials ruled that a fair catch was called when a Tennessee player on the front line – who should be specifically focused on blocking – pointed at the ball as it flew overhead.

The rulebook states that if a player (in this case, Cam Seldon) returns the ball following a fair catch, the ball is placed at where he originally caught it. In this case, that was on the 4-yard line. The Vols then went 3-and-out, giving Alabama a short field and just like that the Tide trailed 20-17 following a made field goal.

It’s slightly unorthodox and not often called. Some Vols fans would prefer to label it “convenient.” But it’s the rule. Heupel addressed the call Monday afternoon during his weekly press conference.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Letter of the law, anybody that puts their hand above the shoulder, that would signify a fair catch,” Heupel said. “We had a front line guy that put his pointer finger up slightly above his shoulder.”

Tennessee’s penalty struggles have been something to behold this season. The Vols are the most penalized team in the conference (8 per game) and it’s obviously come back to bite them a few times already this year.

The Vols look to get back on track this week with a trip to Lexington for a battle against SEC East foe Kentucky.