Tennessee's Loss Again Shows How Little Room for Error Remains in the SEC

Saturday gave Tennessee another hard lesson in how thin the difference between winning and losing has become in the SEC. Head coach Josh Heupel talks often about those margins, and the league standings, as the original report noted, make the same point plainly. In a conference where so many games turn on a handful of plays, Tennessee has to be sharper in the moments that decide them.

That is the issue Heupel and the Volunteers must correct. Playing better in the margins is not an abstract slogan for this team. It describes the small parts of a game that add up over four quarters, and when Tennessee comes up short in them, the result, as it did again on Saturday, is painful and difficult to overcome against SEC competition.

For Tennessee, the significance is straightforward. With the margins in the league smaller than they have ever been, there is little cushion for a team that does not handle them well. Heupel states the problem often, according to the report. Now the Vols have to show they can fix it on the field.