The Tennessee Volunteers punctuated one of the best Saturdays in modern college football with a program-defining, generational game win against their historic rivals. Make no mistake about it, the jubilation on display in Knoxville Saturday night was about much more than beating Alabama.
But there’s plenty of happiness in the Xs and Os as well. Tennessee’s win over Alabama wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a case of Alabama looking ahead. It wasn’t a Noon kick sleepwalk for a road favorite. And it wasn’t due to injury or a weird bounce. Tennessee was simply the better team on Saturday, and that’s going to show in our Vols game grades Alabama edition.
Tennessee Vols Game Grades Alabama Edition
Offense: A+
The stats are absolutely gaudy. And this is grading on the ultimate curve: against a Nick Saban-coached Alabama defense. Josh Heupel‘s offense scored the most points against Alabama since 1907. 115 years. The Vols’ 52 points represent 41% of all the points scored against the Tide this season (52 of 127). The statistical accolades could go on, but the biggest thing that will show up on film was Tennessee’s physicality against the nation’s second-ranked scoring defense. At worst, they went toe-to-toe with a team considered the physical standard bearer among college football defenses. Alabama’s Will Anderson, Jr. is the only defensive player in the nation in the Heisman conversation and Anderson was a non-factor in the game. At best, the Vols were the more physical team and leveraged a powerful run game to open up a high-powered offense.
It was almost perfect complementary offensive football. It was an absolute clinic of offensive preparation, game planning, and play calling.
Offensive Stat of the Game: Vols 4.7 Yards/Rush
Quarterback: A
Hendon Hooker is the engine that drives this high-powered offense. The Hendon Hooker-Bryce Young showdown was an instant classic between two of the best three quarterbacks in the college game today. Hooker’s consistency and accuracy were again on display against the third-ranked team in the country. Hooker’s 385 passing yards were more than any other team’s total yardage so far this season against Alabama. His 441 total yards against Alabama was 15% more than any other team’s total yardage output against the Crimson Tide this season.
But it’s about more than the stats for Hooker. In the past, Tennessee has crumbled when bad things happened. Hooker threw his first interception of the season and fumbled a hand-off leading to an Alabama defensive touchdown. That adversity usually breaks players and teams against Alabama. Not Hendon Hooker. The Vols’ offense, came back out as steady and focused as before and scored the game-tying touchdown. Tennessee’s players, coaches, and fans put their faith in Hooker and he delivered like no other quarterback since 1998, with the possible exception of Joshua Dobbs‘ 2016 Florida game performance.
Hooker’s Heisman moment may have been the final two plays from scrimmage when the quarterback moved the Vols 41 yards in :13 to set up the game-winning field goal.
Running Backs: A
Overlooked by the Hooker PR campaign was the rushing attack. The Vols averaged 4.7 yards per carry and totaled 182 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Five of Alabama’s six previous opponents this season have totaled less than 80 yards rushing this season. It was Tennessee’s running game that forced the Crimson Tide to stay in a one-high safety set almost the entire game. The Jabari Small–Jaylen Wright duo lacks break-away speed but they punished the Alabama linebackers all night.
In Tennessee’s last touchdown drive, they ran eight rushing plays against five passing plays, including five rushes in a row totaling 5, 11, 3, 5, and 1 yard each. The Tide defense was gassed and on their heels. That set up Jalin Hyatt‘s fifth touchdown reception two plays later.
Receivers: A+
Even with Cedric Tillman, the Tennessee receivers were lights out on Saturday. Hyatt unlocked legend status with five touchdowns and 207 receiving yards on six receptions. Bru McCoy caught the first pass from scrimmage and the last pass from scrimmage, the reception that set up the game-winning field goal. Princeton Fant added a rushing touchdown and, in turn, Small and Wright added three receptions out of the backfield. Ramel Keyton had five receptions for 78 yards, and probably the only blemish from the receivers all night after misplaying a Hooker deep strike that resulted in a scoreless drive for the Vols.
But nowhere was the difference in physicality between these two teams more apparent than with the receiving group. McCoy, Fant, and Jacob Warren were extremely effective in blocking in support of the run game. It was in stark contrast to the Alabama receivers, who were largely ineffective in blocking Vols linebackers and defensive backs.
Offensive Line: A+
In our preview article, we talked about watching the offensive line and how that will dictate how Tennessee would fare against Alabama. Without a doubt, the offensive line’s performance is the highlight of the night. In addition to the gaudy rushing numbers, the front five held Alabama to one sack, two tackles-for-loss and zero QB hurries. The Tide’s one defensive touchdown was not caused by the offensive line. And on at least three rushing plays, including a key quarterback sneak on 3rd and 1 in the third quarter, the line moved the line of scrimmage five yards against the Alabama front seven.
If Tennessee’s offensive front continues to get better, this offense might be actually unstoppable.
Defense: B-
Before you scratch your head, it’s important to remember a few things. First, Alabama has scored 49 points or more in four of their previous six games, including against two SEC schools. Second, Tennessee got the best game all season from Young, last year’s Heisman winner. And third, Tennessee’s offense had two turnovers, including one for a score. So, despite giving up 569 total yards and 42 points to the Crimson Tide offense, the defense did what they had to do to get the win.
Defensive Stat of the Game: Alabama 8.8 yards per passing attempt.
Defensive Line: A-
The defensive line continues to be the strong suit for Tim Banks‘ aggressive defense. The front four accounted for only one sack, but pressured Young all night and delivered several hard hits. They recorded 4 TFLs and a crazy 9 QB hurries in 75 official snaps. Much like their offensive counterparts, they looked like the more physically dominant unit going up against the Tide offensive line. Omari Thomas, in particular, played a dominant role in the Vols’ defensive front.
While Jahmyr Gibbs tallied 103 yards on 24 carries (4.3 y/c), Alabama only had 27 called rushes to 56 called passes. Alabama, not Tennessee, was the one-sided offense Saturday and that was largely due to Tennessee’s defensive line.
Of note, when the game was on the line late in the fourth quarter, Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien chose to go with Young’s arm rather than Gibbs’ legs. That decision cost Alabama at least a chance in overtime.
Linebackers: B-
It was a total team effort in the linebacking corps. Jeremy Banks and Juwan Mitchell accounted for 10 tackles, one pass defended and four QB hurries. Young is going to be seeing images of Jeremy Banks headed for him for several days. Banks was playing like a guided missile, but Young’s athleticism kept the Tide quarterback out of trouble enough times to keep the chains moving. It was yet another fantastic component of a classic college football game. Aaron Beasley added another TFL and 3 QB Hurries.
Young was able to utilize tight end Cameron Latu and Gibbs out of the backfield for 138 total receiving yards. As good as the linebackers are in the pass rush and against the run, they are equally weak in pass coverage. Look for Kentucky and Georgia to exploit that further on down the schedule.
Defensive Backs: C-
Tennessee was without Warren Burrell and Jaylen McCollough in the secondary and played with a patchwork grouping of defensive backs. And, at times, it showed. But as big as the numbers are, it’s worth noting that Tennessee kept Young under 70% and kept Alabama at 8.8 yards per attempt. Those numbers aren’t great, and neither are 455 total passing yards, but on 52 attempts for Young, they aren’t absolutely terrible, either. It was actually Alabama’s second-lowest QB Rating this season, only behind Young’s performance at Texas in the second week of the season.
It’s never good when your top four tacklers are defensive backs, but most of Young’s completions were in front of the secondary, and there were only a handful of missed tackles. Trevon Flowers was all over the field on Saturday recording 11 tackles from his safety position. The Tide didn’t have any truly explosive plays through the air and largely relied on Gibbs in the red zone. Just a bit of improvement on Tennessee’s back end, and this team could be a complete team. Young is the best quarterback they’ll face this season, although the secondary will face a tough challenge against Will Levis and Stetson Bennett over the next four weeks. They’ll need to improve to keep Tennessee on track.
Special Teams: A+
Recovering a muffed punt and hitting a game-winning field goal. Not much more you could ask for from a game like this. Chase McGrath‘s missed extra point was wiped clean by a successful two-point conversion and his game-winning 40-yard field goal is now the stuff of legends in Knoxville and permanently etched in Volunteer lore.
It was a microcosm of why the fans were jubilant: in the past, a tipped field goal would not have made it through the uprights for the Vols but on Saturday, in part due to preparation, in part due to work, and in part due to karma, the Vols continued to be on the right side of the breaks. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the special teams.
Coaching: A+
It’s not often you see a Nick Saban team outcoached. You did on Saturday. Alabama utilized a one-high safety for most of the game and Heupel, Hooker and Hyatt utilized all 53 1/3 yards of the width of the football field to exploit that look. Tennessee came in and looked like the better-prepared team. They looked like the team better suited to handle the situation. And in the crucial final moments, Alabama’s offensive staff abandoned the running game and left enough time on the clock for Hendon Hooker to the Vols within striking distance. McGrath finished the deal to call Alabama’s mistake and seal the game.
Heupel is in year two and has now beaten Florida and Alabama. Tennessee’s previous four coaches — Jeremy Pruitt, Butch Jones, Derek Dooley, and Lane Kiffin — had one total win against Florida and zero total wins against Alabama. Only Kiffin and Jones even came close against Alabama.
Looking Ahead
Tennessee hosts FCS UT-Martin next week. And that’s a really good break for the Vols. They’ll get their focus back, but it’s going to take a day or two after Saturday’s instant classic. More importantly, they get Kentucky and Georgia in the following two weeks. A win against Kentucky sees the Vols almost assuredly in the Top Four in the first iteration of the CFP Playoff Rankings and potential slotted at number one with a resume that will be stronger than any other team’s resume.
But that’s still two weeks away. Josh Heupel hasn’t gotten Tennessee back to national prominence by looking ahead. He’s done it by being intentional about where they’re at. Expect the same this week as Tennessee will focus on UT-Martin and worry about Kentucky after that.
