Alabama Crimson Tide fans happy Josh Heupel’s honeymoon ended in Knoxville

The Tennessee Vols could handle the cold, but they couldn’t handle the heat from the Ohio State Buckeyes. Many Alabama Crimson Tide fans liked the outcome, as the Vols lost 42-17 in the CFP first round.

Even some Alabama football fans who hate Ohio State found it easy to support the Buckeyes against the Crimson Tide’s oldest and most powerful rival. The Crimson Tide and Vols have played every season except one since 1928. Josh Heupel is 2-2 against the Crimson Tide as Tennessee’s head coach. The loss was bad enough, but even worse was the uproar in which Heupel was declared to be the latest manifestation of offensive football wizardry.

Saturday night in Columbus, Heupel made his comeback. Tennessee fans were stunned and angry, pointing the finger of blame directly at Heupel. Braulio Perez of All for Tennessee explained, “Josh Heupel let everyone down in Tennessee’s embarrassing loss.” Braulio added that no excuse can justify the outcome of the match. Heupel’s offensive wizardry gained 16 yards in the first quarter of the game. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s offense gained 205 yards and led 21-0.

Ohio State had a good game plan, but Heupel had trouble adjusting. No matter what changes Heupel made at halftime, the Vols failed to score in the third quarter while Ohio State pounded in two more touchdowns. Before the end of the third quarter, Tennessee fans continued to leave the stadium.

Colton Pickard also wrote for All for Tennessee, reminding Tennessee fans of how much progress Heupel has made in Knoxville. However, Picard titles the article saying the Vols were a “no-show” in Columbus. Pickard is right, Heupel won’t be a “hot” head coach in the SEC next season. Tennessee has a good schedule in 2025 and should be a nine or 10 game favorite. Georgia at Knoxville and road games to Tuscaloosa and Gainesville are big threats, but an SEC schedule that includes Mississippi State, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt should be an easy win.

Alabama Crimson Tide fans will be gearing up for Tennessee’s visit to Bryant-Denny on October 18th. Alabama football fans have compared Heupel unfavorably as a player who has more girth and wants to be an offensive guru like Hugh Freeze. In fact, Heupel uses more novel offensive schemes than anything in Freeze’s playbook. Like all plans, Heupel’s magic fails if the opponent owns the trenches.

Alabama Crimson Tide Tradition

Not all Alabama Crimson Tide fans agree. But for some people, the photo below is nothing but nice.

Due to injury, McLaughlin was unable to celebrate the victory on the field, but his reaction on the sideline was classic.