Tennessee HC Josh Heupel confirms why the Vols' offense hasn't played well lately

The Tennessee Vols are 5-1 on the season after their 23-17 win against the Florida Gators on Saturday night, but questions about UT's offense remain after another low-scoring output.

Tennessee has scored 60 offensive points combined in its last three games.

In the Vols' first three games of the season, against lesser competition, Tennessee scored 168 offensive points. A downtick in production was expected once SEC play started, but I don't think anyone expected Tennessee to average just 20 points a game in conference play.

So what's the reason for the sudden dip in production?

According to Vols head coach Josh Heupel, there are several factors that have gone into Tennessee's offensive futility in recent weeks.

“Man, not tonight," said Heupel after the win against Florida when asked if Tennessee's passing game is close to where he wants it to be. "I don’t think we're far off, you know what I mean. But, man, it’s not just the pass game, it’s the run game, too. Missed assignments, fundamentals, technique. It’s guys [are] open, we don’t hit it. Guys [are] open, we’re getting pressured. It’s everybody taking their turn, and at some point we’ve got to say, you know what I mean, we’re going to man up and do our job and make this thing go the way that it’s capable of.”

Essentially, a lot of players are taking turns not doing their job and that's why Tennessee hasn't been able to get much going offensively. There isn't just one major issue, it's a combination of missed assignments, poor technique, and ill-timed lapses in judgement. It's not just one player, it's everyone.

You don't want to assume too much, but it feels like Tennessee took some things for granted after their quick 3-0 start. And now they're having to regain their edge as a team.

The good news is that these are all fixable problems. The bad news is that Alabama comes to town next weekend. And even though Alabama has plenty of problems of their own that they need to fix, they're also extremely talented with Jalen Milroe at quarterback and true freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams at wide receiver (among others). Even if the Vols play well, it'll be a battle.

Tennessee doesn't have time to feel sorry for themselves -- especially after a close win against Florida. The Vols have to get right back to it and hold themselves to a standard. Missed assignments, bad decisions, and poor technique will keep this Vols team out of the playoff if they don't get it fixed ASAP.

Related: Tennessee Vols break out iconic locker room celebration after win against the Florida Gators