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Tennessee defeated Alabama 24-17 in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon.
This is Tennessee’s second consecutive victory over Alabama at Neyland Stadium. The Vols were in desperate need of a win over their rival in order to stay in the race for the SEC title — and that’s exactly what they got.
Here are 3 takeaways from Tennessee’ big victory over the Crimson Tide:
Alabama’s missed opportunities
This was a game that Alabama had every chance to win. The Crimson Tide generated 3 takeaways in the first half, but failed to produce points on any of them. Alabama averaged under 4 yards per play in the first half and also endured numerous costly penalties.
Perhaps the most damaging penalty came after a 3rd-and-7 pass fell incomplete with under 2 minutes to go in the game and Alabama trailing 21-17. Receiver Kendrick Law was called for a personal foul as he got into it with a Tennessee defensive back, meaning the Tide needed to convert a 4th-and-22 to keep the game going. Jalen Milroe’s ensuing pass to Justice Haynes was complete, but came up short of earning the first down.
On the day, Alabama was assessed a whopping 15 penalties for 115 yards.
Alabama also struggled on third down on both sides of the ball, but particularly offensively in the second half. The Tide went 0-for-5 on third down after halftime.
Tennessee’s offense found its way
After struggling mightily with turnovers in the first half, Tennessee’s offense figured out some things after the break. Nico Iamaleava returned from a brief injury absence and was much more effective in the second half.
Overall, Tennessee averaged 6.6 yards per play in the second half against Alabama as the Vols were able to hone in on some of Alabama’s defensive issues. Running back Dylan Sampson scored twice while Iamaleava found Chris Brazzell II for what would be the game-winner with under 6 minutes to go in the half.
It was a big bounce-back performance for the Vols offensively given their struggles on that end of the field in recent weeks.
College Football Playoff implications
This is a game that was always going to have serious CFP implications — but particularly so after each team unexpectedly dropped SEC games before this weekend.
For Alabama, the Tide now have 2 losses on the season. Kalen DeBoer’s team has not played particularly well at all during SEC play since the win over Georgia. Losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee sandwiched a poor effort against South Carolina last week in Tuscaloosa. Alabama now may need to win out in order to ensure that it has a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Tennessee, meanwhile, now has a bit more margin-for-error after earning a big win over the No. 7 Crimson Tide. Tennessee’s loss to Arkansas still stings, but this victory should carry quite a bit of weight when the selection committee makes their final decisions after conference championship weekend. Tennessee, with 1 loss, is also still very much in the mix for a potential berth in the SEC Championship Game.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
