Last week, we broke down the state of the Butch Jones zeitgeist in Knoxville, an especially sore subject in the wake of the Vols’ last-second loss at Florida.
Tennessee’s 4-point win over UMass might be Butch Jones’ most frustrating game yet
That’s about as grating a win as you can possibly imagine.
Knoxville News Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK
That seemed to define Peak Butch Jones.
Then the Volunteers struggled to put down previously 0-4 UMass on Saturday.
Earlier in the week, the Vols had done something that’s increasingly rare: They’d put an assistant coach out in the media to explain in great detail how something went wrong. Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was informative and humble as he walked us all through the second-by-second breakdown of the Gators’ winning touchdown play, so much so that you sorta left his explanation feeling better about not only the Vols’ defense, but the state of the program and its slow, inarguable improvement.
Then the Vols screwed around and nearly gave up the ghost to UMass at home in a 17-13 “win.” UMass: winless, 114th nationally in S&P+ UMass.
This would be a hilarious novelty, if Jones hadn’t already built a track record in Knoxville out of wins that leave fans irate and losses that leave you thinking Tennessee was the better team. Despite us writing several times that the Vols are headed in the right direction, after Saturday, it’s clear that there’s no harder program to love in the Power 5 right now than the Volunteers.
Some facts on Saturday’s game (remember, Tennessee won):
- The Vols were 28-point home favorites and couldn’t break a scoreless tie until 26 minutes in.
- The woeful Minutemen had a puncher’s chance at an upset, driving as deep as the Tennessee 36-yard-line down four in the fourth, but UMass quarterback Andrew Ford was knocked out of the game in the third quarter.
- Jones pulled starting quarterback Quinten Dormady in favor of Jarrett Guarantano. Guarantano failed to spark the offense in three scoreless series, but the move has furthered debate in the fan base over who should be the starter.
Where does this rank in the pantheon of painful Tennessee wins and collapse losses in the Jones era? You decide:
- Appalachian State, 2016: Tennessee opened in primetime on Thursday night only to fall behind the Sun Belt Mountaineers, 13-3. The Vols would need a 10-0 second half, overtime, and a fumble recovery to escape what would’ve been a massive upset.
- The Battle At Bristol, 2016: The No. 17 Vols were shocked early by Virginia Tech, who jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and seemed ready for a massive upset on a national stage before Tennessee scored 24 unanswered points.
- Oklahoma, 2015: This time playing spoiler at home, Jones’ Vols had a dominant 17-0 lead vs. No. 19 OU before the Sooners scored 28 in the second half and forced two overtimes in a come-from-behind win.
- Florida, 2015: Butch could’ve earned massive points with UT fans — and lessened some of the angst from last week — if he’d broken the streak vs. Florida a year earlier than he did. The Vols were up 20-7 in the third quarter in Gainesville before a 63-yard touchdown pass from Will Grier with under a minute snatched some precious equity.
- Florida, 2014: It was even more bitter a year prior. The Vols had a paltry, 9-0 fourth quarter lead over Will Muschamp’s hapless Gators before UF found a way to score 10 points in the fourth quarter to steal another win.
- Other? Failed comebacks, collapses, and ugly wins: the Jones era has had it all.
A quick reminder: The Vols are 3-1 and, once again, headed in the right direction as an overall program. And while a maddening lack of satisfaction has pocked the Jones era for Tennessee fans, it’s now almost certain the Vols will turn around and beat a top-10 Georgia in Knoxville next week, because that’s how college football works.
Even the Butch Jones era pays out once in a while.
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