Alabama vs. Tennessee: Score and Twitter Reaction

Alabama showed again why it is the No. 1 team in college football with a dominant 49-10 road win Saturday over No. 9 Tennessee.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was the star of the day for the Crimson Tide, making strong throws but having an even bigger impact with his legs. He finished with 132 rushing yards and three touchdowns to go with his 143 passing yards.

Travis Haney of 104.5 The Zone summed up his thoughts while watching the young player:

Running backs Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough also finished with over 90 rushing yards each on the day.

Meanwhile, the Alabama defense was dominant from start to finish, holding Joshua Dobbs in check. The Volunteers quarterback managed only 92 passing yards on 27 attempts, while a handful of sacks caused him to finish with minus-31 rushing yards.

The Crimson Tide finished with 594 total yards of offense compared to 163 for the Volunteers, including a 438-32 advantage on the ground.

According to the team's Twitter account, this was the most for the program since 1986.

Brett McMurphy of ESPN joked about Alabama's all-around dominance: 

This is the team's 10th straight win over Tennessee as well as the 19th straight win overall, matching a record under head coach Nick Saban.

This matchup was expected to be a good one with two top teams and a tough environment. The action appeared close early on with both defenses showing up for the first few drives. It took until the end of the first quarter for Alabama to finally break the scoreless tie by using a bit of trickery.

Receiver ArDarius Stewart got the ball on a reverse and followed his blockers 29 yards into the end zone:

A few minutes later, Alabama's defense made a play as Ronnie Harrison picked off an attempted screen pass and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.

This was the 10th non-offensive touchdown of the year for the Tide defense and the ninth consecutive game with this type of score, per Jon Solomon of CBS Sports. Alabama added its 11th non-offensive touchdown later in the game when Eddie Jackson returned a punt 79 yards for a score.

Ben Jones of the Tuscaloosa News broke down just how dominant the Alabama defense was in the first quarter:

It took a big play from the Tennessee defense to get the Volunteers back in the game. Defensive end Derek Barnett forced a fumble while sacking Hurts, which led Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports to make this proclamation:

Two runs from Alvin Kamara later and the Volunteers were able to cut the lead in half to 14-7.

Still, the Crimson Tide were not easy to stop, especially with Hurts showcasing his incredible speed. The quarterback went untouched down the right side 45 yards for his first score of the day. 

He continued his playmaking ability with more big runs before the end of the first half to consistently move the football.

Peter Burns of ESPN broke down the player's value:

Despite the one-sided play, Alabama could only go into halftime up 21-7 thanks to a missed field goal by Adam Griffith right before intermission. Barnett also bailed out Tennessee with an interception deep in his own territory to keep Alabama out of the end zone. 

Heading into the locker rooms, the visitors had 309 yards of offense compared to just 41 for the Vols, but the two turnovers kept it competitive.

While Tennessee had made a habit of overcoming big deficits to this point in the year, it couldn't do the same Saturday.

Hurts once again put his rushing ability on display when he scored his second touchdown of the day on a two-yard run to the corner with a little over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Bleacher Report's Sanjay Kirpalani praised the dynamic runner:

After Tennessee kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 28-10, Hurts followed it up with another rushing score, a one-yard scramble into the end zone.

Jackson then added insult to injury by returning a punt for a touchdown, extending the lead to 42-10 in the fourth quarter, via SEC on CBS:

Scarbrough added to the embarrassment with an 85-yard rushing touchdown on the next possession, which gave Alabama a dominant 39-point lead after the extra point.

As good as the Tide have looked, No. 6 Texas A&M will test them next Saturday before their bye, and they'll face LSU when they return in Week 9, followed by Mississippi State.

Tennessee is fortunately done with its SEC West competition and will have a week off before going on the road to face South Carolina. Thanks to their strong start to the season, the Volunteers have a chance to contend for a division title in the SEC East.    

Postgame Reaction

Coaches usually have some complaints after games, but Saban was quite satisfied, per Jones:

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones simply had to tip his cap to his opponent, per Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News:

Although the Vols were dealing with a number of injuries, it must have been disappointing not to pull off another comeback.

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