Back to reality. A week after Tennessee’s first conference win in almost two years and their first win against an SEC West foe since 2010, the Vols were prescribed and administered a dose of reality by the nation’s best team. Alabama, with Butch Jones in tow, came into Knoxville and dominated former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.
But it wasn’t just about Alabama dominance. Tennessee, much like they did against Florida, committed mistakes early and often. And, like the Georgia game, there’s clear signs of improvement with Tennessee. That’s hard to see looking at the scoreboard after this game. But it’s there on the film.
Tennessee Vols Game Grades Alabama Edition
Offense: C
Tennessee’s offense sputtered and stumbled often, but was able to put together a few drives and some momentum at times. The story remains the same. Solid quarterback play and toughness from the receivers and running backs is mitigated by poor offensive line play.
Offensive Stat of the Game: Tennessee quarterbacks 14/25 (56%) passing efficiency.
Quarterback: B+
Jarrett Guarantano and Keller Chryst continued to squeeze as much out of this offense as they can. Guarantano and Chryst combined for 14/25 (56%), 227 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions on the day. But the hits finally caught up to Guarantano in the second quarter. Chryst came in and played well. As Tennessee looks to their November schedule and a possible run at a bowl, Guarantano’s health is a huge question; although Chryst showed he can manage this offense as well.
Running Backs: C
The rushing attack never got going against a stout Alabama defense. Tim Jordan had the best day of the running backs, and that’s not saying much. The biggest take away was the toughness of the running backs late in the game when head coach Jeremy Pruitt challenged his team to establish a running game.
For the second week in a row, Ty Chandler had a receiving touchdown. Jeremy Banks and Madre London again disappointed in short yardage situation. London was unable to get two yards on two carries near midfield in the first quarter. A first down there would have helped alleviate the early pressure on the defense.
Banks’ personal foul on the safety enabled another Crimson Tide excellent starting position, in addition to Chandler’s errors on kickoff return.
Receivers: A-
Tennessee’s best offensive group remains the receivers. It’s been that way all season. This week was the Jauan Jennings show. Jennings had six receptions for 102 yards. Josh Palmer, Brandon Johnson, and Tyler Byrd also had big catches. While not the fastest receivers group, they’ve won every 50/50 ball in the last two games against good defenses. When the offensive line (foreshadowing sentence) provides the quarterbacks time to throw, this offense is effective.
Offensive Line: F
The offensive line was absolutely man-handled by the Alabama defense. Yes, the Crimson Tide are the nation’s best team. And their defensive line leads their defense. But there is no excuse for the offensive line’s play today. Especially the interior–center Ryan Johnson and guards Riley Locklear and Nathan Niehaus missed multiple assignments on the day and allowed constant pressure up the middle. Even Trey Smith, a Freshman All-American last season, whiffed on a pull block in the third quarter that would have sprang a first down run.
The game plan to beat Tennessee is clear: rush four or five against the offensive line and bloody the quarterback.
For Tennessee to win two of their final four conference games and earn a bowl bid, the offensive line must get better. It’s really as simple as that.
Defense: D
The defense once again played against field position and momentum. The offense fumbled away a possession inside the Tennessee 10 yard line, a botched on-sides kick, and a mental mistake on kickoff return gave Alabama 16 easy points. And a missed field goal and a personal foul gave them possession near midfield twice as well.
That’s a lot of headwind to ask for a defense going up against the best team in the nation. But there were plenty of mistakes from the defense as well.
Defensive Stat of the Game: Alabama’s 58 points is the most scored against Tennessee in the history of the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry.
Defensive Line: D
The defensive line failed to get consistent pressure against Alabama’s quarterbacks. And when they did, they simply couldn’t make the tackle. Two of Tua Tagovailoa‘s touchdown passes came after escaped tackles. Jalen Hurts‘ touchdown run came after a broken tackle. The running lanes were open as well. Even Kyle Phillips‘ big interception return touchdown was the result of a blitz by the defensive backs. Shy Tuttle and Alexis Johnson were largely quiet.
Much like the Tennessee’s offensive line, the defensive line was simply out-muscled by Alabama’s offensive line.
Linebackers: D
Tennessee clearly missed Daniel Bituli in the first half. Darrin Kirkland, Jr. made a couple of stops, but he and Quart’e Sapp were held largely at bay as the Crimson Tide accumulated over 220 yards of rushing. They were invisible in the pass defense as well.
Defensive Backs: D
The defensive backs were up-and-down all day. Nigel Warrior made several strong tackles, but missed an interception in the end zone during Alabama’s 28-point first quarter. The backs were involved in the pass rush, tipping the eventual interception returned for a touchdown, but blew several coverages that led to big pass plays. Todd Kelly, Jr., in consecutive plays, made an excellent tackle and stop and then, on the next play, got turned around and burned for a long touchdown pass. It was that type of day for the Vols secondary.
Special Teams: F
Tennessee’s special teams were atrocious against Alabama. For an out-matched team to have any chance at an upset, they need a break in the special teams. It was the opposite case on Saturday. The Vols special team prevented them from hanging in the game. Ty Chandler twice messed up the kickoff return, once resulting in the ball being downed at the two yard line. That resulted in a safety on the subsequent offensive play.
Brent Cimaglia missed a field goal. Joe Doyle had a couple of good punts, but one terrible punt as well. The on-sides kick in the first quarter wasn’t executed well, either.
That’s three times special teams gave Alabama plus-field position and once provided Tennessee with very poor starting field position.
Coaching: C
Tyson Helton is doing what he can with the limitations of his offensive line. The defense couldn’t overcome the pressure of the first half, enabled by a turnover and botched on-sides kick.
But, most importantly, the Vols continued to play hard. There was a feeling that the Vols were just a play or two away from making this a game. That’s a stark contrast from last season’s games against Georgia and Alabama, where the Vols were out of the game from the kick. It’s time for Pruitt’s staff to show what it’s made of as we enter the November portion of the schedule.
Looking Ahead
Tennessee sits at 3-4, with four conference games and a game against Charlotte the rest of the way. Tennessee expects to win against Charlotte, so that means the Vols need two conference wins to reach bowl eligibility. South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt are the remaining games.
We’ve known that the Tennessee team in November would look a lot different than the Tennessee team that opened the season against West Virginia. Tennessee’s performance during the back half of the schedule is a true litmus test of Pruitt and his staff’s ability to coach and prepare the talent in the Vols team.
That’ll tell us what Tennessee’s reality really is.
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