Tennessee Vols, Butch Jones couldn't win enough close games in 2017

This is part IV of a five-part series revisiting themes from Tennessee’s 2017 season.

Tennessee twice faced 10-point fourth-quarter deficits in its Sept. 16 game against Florida before the Vols rallied to tie the game at 20 with 50 seconds remaining.

Their comeback was undone with one play.

Florida’s Tyrie Cleveland hauled in a 63-yard heave from Feleipe Franks for the winning touchdown in a 26-20 victory with no time remaining.

Part I:Tennessee Vols offense needs a spark after woeful 2017 showing

Part II:Vols couldn't stop the run in 2017. How will Jeremy Pruitt attempt to fix it?

Part III:How injuries contributed to most losses in Tennessee history in 2017

Butch Jones’ tenure was undone by his teams’ struggles to win close games.

The loss to Florida was perhaps the most frustrating example from the 2017 season for Vols fans, but hardly the only one.

Despite mustering just 253 yards of offense against South Carolina, the Vols had a chance to win the game with their final drive.

Tennessee marched 73 yards and had first-and-goal from the Gamecocks’ 2. Three incompletions later, the game was over. The Gamecocks won 15-9.

Tennessee snapped the final play with one second remaining. Jarrett Guarantano’s pass to Brandon Johnson in the end zone was on the mark, but he couldn’t secure the catch.

Two weeks later, the Vols played Kentucky amid snow flurries in Lexington. Tennessee took a 23-21 lead on Brent Cimaglia’s field goal with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter and extended the advantage to 26-21 when Cimaglia made another field goal with 13:24 to play.

But the Vols couldn’t extend their lead to two possessions, and they couldn’t close the deal.

Kentucky drove 72 yards in 10 plays and scored the winning touchdown in a 29-26 victory with 33 seconds remaining.

It was Kentucky’s second victory over Tennessee in the past 33 meetings.

Jones went 10-14 in one-possession games while in charge of the Vols. He was fired Nov. 12 in his fifth season at Tennessee

The Vols suffered embarrassing losses to rivals Georgia and Alabama — their margin of defeat in those games was 86-7 — but a bowl game could have been salvaged had Tennessee performed better in tight contests.

Tennessee beat Georgia Tech 42-41 in double overtime in the season opener and downed Massachusetts 17-13 in a game that never should’ve been that close.

But those losses to Florida, South Carolina and Kentucky helped form the narrative of the season.

And one of the lasting images of Tennessee’s 2017 campaign will be the Gators celebrating their seventh straight win in The Swamp over the Vols, who blew it on the final play.