Tennessee football led by 13-points at halftime before Alabama bull rushed the Vols with a dominant second half and handed them their 10th straight loss in Tuscaloosa.
Here’s five critical moments from Tennessee’s loss at Alabama.
Milton Over The Top To Squirrel White
Josh Heupel got an Alabama outside linebacker matched up on receiver Squirrel White on the game’s opening drive. The speedy White ran past him, Joe Milton III delivered a good ball and White made an even better catch to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead.
The play, and scheming by Heupel, threw things back to last season’s game in Knoxville when Tennessee kept getting favorable matchups for Jalin Hyatt.
The 39-yard touchdown was the eighth play on an already strong opening drive for Tennessee that included a pair of third down conversions. Milton and White’s connection made sure Tennessee would capitalize the strong drive with points.
It also put Tennessee in the driver’s seat early.
A Momentum Flipping Defensive Play
Tennessee controlled the vast majority of the first half. But after turning it over on downs in its own territory midway through the second quarter, the Vols were on the cusp of trailing.
Alabama was in the red zone when they threw a fade route to Jermaine Burton. Doneiko Slaughter had strong coverage and batted the ball right to Jaylen McCollough for an interception.
The play not only preserved Tennessee’s lead but also set up an 80-yard touchdown drive which completely flipped the momentum back in the Vols’ favor going into halftime.
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Alabama’s Second Half Opening Quick Strike
The game flipped like a switch and it happened right at the onset of the second half. Alabama had just 131 yards in the first half. It took them just two plays to go 75 yards and pull within six points of Tennessee to open the second half.
Jase McClellan nearly doubled Alabama’s first half rushing production with a 29-yard run on the first play of the second half. A play later, Jalen Milroe— aided by an obvious missed holding call— found Isaiah Bond all alone behind the Tennessee secondary for a 46-yard touchdown.
It was a sign of what was to come.
Another Failed Fourth Down Attempt
Tennessee finally felt like it was getting its feet underneath them in the second half when Milton pulled a read option and ran 16 yards for a first down midway through the third quarter.
The Vols were reeling but still led by three points. Three plays later, Tennessee faced fourth-and-one at its own 46-yard line. Heupel had a decision to make: roll the dice and try to grab back all the momentum or to take his medicine, punt and make Alabama drive the length of the field.
Heupel put the ball in his offense’s hands and Alabama stuffed a Dylan Sampson run up the middle. Five plays later, Alabama took its first lead of the game on a McClellan five-yard touchdown run.
Instead of punting and trying to help his team get their feet under them, Heupel went for the big risk, big reward play. It backfired and Tennessee kept cratering.
The Strip Sack Dagger
Unlike the second quarter collapse at Florida, Tennessee’s defense did a solid job of forcing Alabama to settle for field goals in the second half.
When Will Reichard connected from 50-yards early in the fourth quarter, Tennessee was still in the game. Alabama had all the momentum but the Vols were down by just one touchdown and weren’t dead yet.
It took two plays for that to change. Chris Braswell shed John Campbell’s block and stripped Milton from behind. Jihaad Campbell recovered and bumbled into the end zone for a 24-yard game sealing touchdown.
It took just 22:34 of game time for Tennessee to go from a 13-point lead to all but dead at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The bad play capped off a disastrous second half for the Vols.
3 Responses
The critical moment came when Milton took the field.
I’d like to commend Bama for playing such a perfect game that they neither held against our defensive line nor interfered with our receivers on a single play for the entire game. For those who thought they saw infractions on the video replays, Saban said “don’t believe your lying orange eyes”. Such purity of play was formerly unheard of in SEC play.
Bama’s sole penalty in the game came from the entire Tide OL starting the play before the snap. The offending referee apologized to Saban, stating it would have been obvious if he swallowed his whistle on that play as well. Reportedly that particular referee will never work another Bama game as long as Saban lives. That promise may be moot as the wsearch continues throughout the state of Alabama for the referee.
In other action, the refs accounted for three drive stopping spots. They received a game ball for their efforts.
According to CBS announcers, the refs didn’t cost Tennessee the game. The Vols’ atrocious play in the second half did most of the damage and “Bama was Bama, finally”. While that’s largely true, it’s hard to hang onto the cliff when the refs keep kicking your knuckles.
Ok, last year the refs took away an interception from Bama late in the game. That homer call cost Bama the game and 16 in a row over the Vols. Where were you when that call was made? The refs missed an obvious call in this game when your guy punched our guy. It happens . That’s the way it rolls and you can cry about it all you want. The game is over and we’ll see you next year.