Alabama Football: Winners and Losers from Crimson Tide's Win vs. Tennessee

Alabama moved to 8-0 on the season with its 37-6 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers. Saturday's affair featured a slow start for the Tide followed by a furious finish.

Exciting plays highlighted the game, as did the end of a couple of streaks. Let's take a look at the winners and losers from Alabama's victory over Tennessee. 

Winner: Alabama Receivers

Key to the development of quarterback A. J. McCarron has been the development of the Alabama receiving corps.

In the win over Tennessee, Marquis Maze had the second 100-yard receiving game of his career. Darius Hanks displayed great athleticism with his three catches for 55 yards.

Also, there was a positive sign in Alabama’s search for a third receiving option with Kenny Bell stepping forward. The sophomore speedster had three catches of his own for 52 yards and his first career touchdown. 

Loser: Matt Simms

Matt Simms continues to struggle in his attempt to replace Tyler Bray. The Tennessee quarterback was harassed all night and completed just eight of his 17 passes for 58 yards and an interception. 

Winner: Alabama Vertical Passing Game

As McCarron and the Alabama passing game has improved, it’s the deep pass that has still been missing.

That finally changed against Tennessee.

McCarron found Marquis Maze for a 69-yard reception in the first half which led to a field goal. Then, in the second half, McCarron hooked up with Bell on a 39-yard touchdown pass that helped break the game wide open.

Those two catches were the longest of the season for Alabama wide receivers. 

Loser: Alabama Streaks

In the midst of its runaway victory, a couple of Alabama individual streaks came to an end.

Trent Richardson failed to reach 100 yards rushing for the first time since the season opener against Kent St. Richardson’s six consecutive games of reaching the century mark is tied with Shaun Alexander on the Crimson Tide all-time list.

Also, A. J. McCarron saw his streak of passes without an interception end at 152. That ranks third in Alabama history behind Jay Barker and Brodie Croyle. 

Winner: Alabama Pass Rush

The Alabama pass rush has come on of late after a slow start to the season. The Crimson Tide ranks No. 2 in the SEC with 17 sacks, adding two more on Saturday.

Courtney Upshaw and Dont’a Hightower each had a sack with Upshaw forcing a fumble on his. Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms looked uncomfortable all game long, much due to the Bama pressure. 

Loser: Alabama's First Half Play

Against Tennessee, Alabama fell behind for the third time in its last four games. Early defensive lapses have been an issue, but Saturday it was a sluggish offense that had 'Bama tied with the Volunteers at halftime. Alabama led Ole Miss by just a touchdown at the half a week earlier.

The Crimson Tide has responded in the second half of each game and won them all handily. Against LSU, four quarters of good football will be needed and you can bet it will be a point of emphasis. 

Winner: Dont'a Hightower

Even two years after his knee injury, Hightower continues to show improvement each week in getting back to the explosiveness he once possessed. Against the Volunteers, he showed every facet of his multi-skilled game that makes him so feared.

Hightower displayed excellent pass rushing skills with a sack, and on a separate play, the most memorable hit of the night on Simms. Hightower also had his first career interception and showed an ability to run down Tennessee skill players half his size.

This was undoubtedly the best game of Hightower’s season and we saw glimpses of his freak athleticism. 

Loser: Derek Dooley

The Tennessee coach has managed to get one good half from his team in games against LSU and Alabama. That hasn’t proved to be enough.

After Saturday’s loss, the Volunteer’s are now 0-4 in SEC play. No team in the SEC has had to deal with as many injuries as Tennessee, but Dooley's team has failed to take a step forward during his second season at the helm. 

Winner: Alabama and LSU Fans

During the 4th quarter of Alabama’s win, a chant of "LSU!" could be heard in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Both teams have bye weeks next Saturday before the top two teams in the country will meet in Tuscaloosa on November 5th.