The play for the Tennessee Volunteers against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half has been totally unacceptable. On both sides of the ball, mistakes have been made and two missed field goals on special teams has made things worse. Josh Heupel is losing patience with his team.
That much was made clear when he was livid with Dylan Sampson, his best offensive player, following a costly fumble. Just how mad was Heupel with his star running back? Following the turnover, Sampson wasn’t on the field until there was 30 seconds left in the second quarter:
That’s right, Heupel seemingly benched his standout playmaker for nearly the rest of the first half. With Sampson not on the field, it opened the door for Peyton Lewis to get more work, which included him scoring on a one-yard touchdown. Still, the fact that Sampson wasn’t in action for so long following his fumble is quite eye-opening.
