{"id":2463,"date":"2016-10-16T16:00:13","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T20:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=2463"},"modified":"2018-01-13T00:37:52","modified_gmt":"2018-01-13T05:37:52","slug":"2463","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2016\/10\/16\/2463\/","title":{"rendered":"Injury-Plagued Tennessee Vols Hammered by Crimson Tide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plagued by injuries, the Tennessee<\/strong>\u00a0Vols<\/strong>\u00a0got hammered by No. 1\u00a0Alabama Crimson Tide.<\/strong>\u00a0Tennessee would’ve had a big task in front of them playing Alabama totally healthy as it is. However, playing them with an extensive amount of injuries made it even worse. Tennessee has had a “next man up” mentality this season with injuries mounting up left and right. However, they could be running out of men.<\/p>\n

Man Down<\/h3>\n

Tennessee was without\u00a0Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Darren Kirkland Jr, Cortez McDowell,\u00a0<\/strong>Quart’e Sapp, Cam Sutton\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Malik Foreman<\/strong>\u00a0defensively.\u00a0<\/strong>Dylan Weisman\u00a0<\/strong>was out on the offensive line and\u00a0Jashon Robertson\u00a0<\/strong>could only play on special teams. He’s usually on the offensive line as well. During the game,\u00a0Brett Kendrick\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Chance Hall<\/strong> exited with injuries on the offensive line.<\/p>\n

Danny O’Brien\u00a0<\/strong>was dismissed from the team due to violation of team rules. Then let’s not forget wide receiver\u00a0Preston Williams’\u00a0<\/strong>testament to transfer was approved. Tennessee had to use red-shirt freshman,\u00a0Venzell Boulware\u00a0<\/strong>for\u00a0his first start on the offensive line. He was filling in for Jashon Robertson. This was the fifth different offensive line combination for Tennessee this year. Not to mention,\u00a0Coleman Thomas\u00a0<\/strong>had to be put back in the game as snapper. He already was out with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n

Alabama out-rushed Tennessee 438-32. The\u00a0evident injuries hurt Tennessee yesterday, even though a team would never want to use that as an excuse. The Vols\u00a0had just come away from\u00a0playing Florida<\/strong>, Georgia<\/strong>\u00a0and Texas A&M<\/strong>\u00a0back-to-back-to-back. They continued to lose players in those games, which Tennessee did go 2-1 in. Only loss was a double overtime loss at the Aggies<\/strong>\u00a0last week. Coming home banged up, then playing the No. 1 team in the land. It was clear Tennessee ran out of steam.<\/p>\n

The Tide Rolls In<\/h3>\n

Alabama is ranked at the top of the polls for a reason, and that reason was clear yesterday. However, if Tennessee had been down by only a few players, the game\u00a0would not have been a 49-10 blowout. Nobody knows if Tennessee would have won if completely healthy, but all is not lost for the Vols. They can still win out and hope Florida loses. If that happens, they’re in the SEC title game.<\/p>\n

That’s a lot of ifs<\/em> and hopes<\/em> though. The bye week coming up could not have come at a better time. This team needs to refocus, get healthy, and come back strong against South Carolina<\/strong>. Tennessee’s remaining schedule is favorable, as they have South Carolina in two weeks, followed by\u00a0Tennessee Tech<\/strong>,\u00a0Kentucky, Missouri\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Vanderbilt.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tough four game stretch is over. This team just needs to heal and refocus. The goal this year was to get to Atlanta<\/strong> and that is still very much in reach. A lot is left to play for.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n