Tennessee vs. Alabama: Game Grades, Analysis for Vols and Crimson Tide
It's been six years since the Tennessee Volunteers battled Alabama in a close game, but they gave big, bad Bama all it could handle Saturday afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Despite that, the Crimson Tide flexed their talent and muscle with the game on the line, piecing together a brilliant go-ahead late touchdown drive to beat UT, 19-14. A Ryan Anderson forced fumble and A'Shawn Robinson recovery of Joshua Dobbs' miscue sealed the win for the Tide.
The victory is Alabama's ninth in a row against the Vols, who by this point aren't into moral victories. While it wasn't pretty in the least, the Tide keep marching through the SEC with gritty wins over their rivals.
Now, they get a much-needed bye week.
UA needs some help to get in the SEC Championship Game, but the Tide keep doing their part.
After UT marched down the field in a four-play drive that was capped with a Jalen Hurd touchdown with 5:56 remaining, Alabama answered in a huge way.
ArDarius Stewart and Calvin Ridley each made massive catches on the eight-play, 71-yard final drive, and Derrick Henry raced in for his second touchdown of the game to keep Bama rolling.
On the losing side, UT head coach Butch Jones was proud of his team but found little solace in "almost":
Let's take a look at the game grades for both teams at the end of this rugged slugfest. To catch back up on all the live-blogging action, click here.
| Passing Offense | B- | B- |
| Rushing Offense | A- | A |
| Passing Defense | B- | B- |
| Rushing Defense | A+ | B |
| Special Teams | D- | D- |
| Coaching | A | B+ |
Passing Offense
It wasn't easy at all throughout the game, but Dobbs took care of the ball (until the final desperation drive) and was able to move the ball downfield when offensive coordinator Mike DeBord called the passing plays. The Vols were especially impressive on a four-play, go-ahead touchdown drive where Dobbs found Josh Smith for 27 yards and Josh Malone for 34 more to set up Hurd's score. UT didn't do enough through the air to win, but 171 yards against that secondary isn't bad.
Rushing Offense
This is as well as anybody has run the football against Alabama's stingy front seven all season. The Tide came into the game allowing 70 rushing yards per contest, and UT wound up with nearly double that at 132. Hurd had 92 rushing yards, and Alvin Kamara had a few nice runs, too. Even though the Vols unleashed Dobbs for a few nice gains, Bama did a good job of holding him to 19 yards on 16 carries. Still, it was a solid performance for Tennessee against one of the nation's best.
Passing Defense
Tennessee didn't struggle the way it has in the secondary, but Jake Coker still found plenty of wiggle room with 247 yards through the air. He victimized Cameron Sutton a couple of times and others too. When Alabama had to have yards, it got them in the passing game. Even so, this was a step forward for UT, who found a playmaker in sophomore Justin Martin. Alabama receivers Stewart and Ridley just made plays against good coverage. Brian Randolph had a big interception for UT.
Rushing Defense
This may be a bit of a cushy grade considering Henry had more than 140 rushing yards and pounded UT at times on the edge. But the Tide had just 117 rushing yards, and the Vols' front seven played its best game all year. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was brilliant all game, and the defensive end duo of Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen knocked those yards down considerably with a sack parade. They just couldn't make enough plays to win.
Jones particularly praised Barnett and Reeves-Maybin after the game:
Special Teams
Punter Trevor Daniel had another great game, and Evan Berry showed some serious fight on his only real kick return, but it was not a pretty day for the special teams. Sutton ill-advisedly picked up a punt that was rolling and got away with that mistake. But the biggest gaffes of the game came from place-kicker Aaron Medley. He missed all three of his field-goal attempts, and even though they were from 43, 51 and 51 yards, you have to hit some big ones to win a big game. He didn't, and the Vols lost.
Coaching
Jones had a puzzling timeout call late in the game on Alabama's final touchdown drive, but besides that, the Vols coaching staff had a great game. The coaches needed to be conservative offensively, and they controlled several drives on the ground. Then, when they had an opportunity to open it up through the air, they did that, too. Defensive coordinator John Jancek dialed up blitzes and called the best game of the year. UT was in position to win the game at the end, and that's all you can ask for on the road against a team like Alabama.
| Passing Offense | C | B+ |
| Rushing Offense | F | B- |
| Passing Defense | B- | B |
| Rushing Defense | C | C+ |
| Special Teams | B+ | B+ |
| Coaching | C- | B- |
Passing Offense
How about Coker? It's been an up-and-down season for him, but the Alabama quarterback took a beating from Tennessee's relentless pass rush and still threw the ball up, depending on his talented receivers. They made him look good. Stewart had six grabs for 114 yards, and Ridley added six for 62 yards. Tight end O.J. Howard was a weapon, too. Coker did throw a first-half pick, but he also wound up with 247 yards when UA struggled to run the ball.
Rushing Offense
A brief glimpse at the stat sheet would tell you that Alabama didn't get it done on the ground with 117 yards. That's not Crimson Tide football. But Henry still contributed with 143 rushing yards and a couple of scores. UA lost 26 yards on Coker sacks, and that brought the numbers down. Tennessee did a good job, and Nick Saban probably isn't happy with the final numbers, but Henry is still a stud, and Bama still ran the ball well with the game on the line.
Passing Defense
The Tide got to Dobbs a lot throughout the game, including the final play when Anderson stripped the ball and Robinson recovered. That was a massive play, and senior linebacker Reggie Ragland let everybody know it in the media room afterward, according to AL.com's Matt Zenith:
Still, other than that one drive where Tennessee hit a couple of big passes, UA's secondary did well. And that was after losing star safety Eddie Jackson to a knee injury in the first half. Minkah Fitzpatrick missed a sure interception, so that docks the grade a little. But it wasn't a bad showing for a growing group of defensive backs.
Rushing Defense
Alabama is a victim of its own success with this grade. Tennessee gained almost twice as many yards as the Tide have allowed this season, and Hurd was able to make the edge far too many times against such a strong front seven. Though UT did a lot of good things on the ground, the Tide continue to be stingy and refuse to give up big plays. That's a feather in their cap, and they did an exceptional job of bottling up Dobbs through the last three quarters of the game.
Special Teams
After a struggling start to the season, Alabama punter JK Scott was back to his All-American form, flipping the field several times against UT. The Tide did a good job of keeping Berry from breaking one free, and though they did nothing in the return game, they didn't do anything poorly, either. Adam Griffith made a pair of chip-shot field goals as well.
Coaching
In the first half, it appeared offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin forgot that he had the best player on the field in Henry, as he's been prone to do this year. But UA did a good enough job of managing a bunch of tired, hurt players in a lull before the bye week. Throughout the second half, the Tide did a much better job in their play-calling with a quality run-pass mix. While the defense wasn't dominant, it made enough plays to stifle Tennessee and win the game. Bama battled through.
All stats gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
