Hello and Roll Tide!

Alabama defeated Tennessee 37-20 on the Third Saturday in October as Kalen DeBoer notched his first win in the historic rivalry. Alabama has won 11-straight against Tennessee in Bryant-Denny Stadium and 17 of the last 19 overall in this series. Alabama’s defense created a lot of big plays, limiting Tennessee to only 20-points after they averaged 48 points per game over their first 6 games. Ty Simpson had another great performance, solidifying himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Below are an injury update, depth notes, Tennessee recap, and week 8 storylines revisited. Let’s go!

Injury Update:

  • Jam Miller was able to play in a limited capacity
  • Jaylen Mbakwe and Danny Lewis did not play after being listed as Game Time Decisions
  • Jaeden Roberts exited late in the 3rd quarter with an injury but is not listed on this week’s injury report

Depth Notes:

  • Dijon Lee started at Cornerback over Domani Jackson and recorded 64 snaps, second among corners behind Zabien Brown
  • Daniel Hill played well, taking over snaps at RB while Jam was limited
  • Yhonzae Pierre once again recorded over 50 snaps at WOLF
  • Red Morgan replaced DeShawn Jones after the first drive, out snapping him 34 to 22

Week 8 Recap: Tennessee Volunteers

Offense: Alabama started with an 11-play 91-yard touchdown drive with multiple highlight plays. Alabama scored touchdowns on 3 of the next 8 drives, converting when they needed to. Ty was once again impressive, delivering strikes all across the field. He finished 19 of 29 with 253 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ty had a lot of help from his receiving core as Ryan and Germie were stars. Ryan made three fantastic catches that all resulted in 1st downs. He finished the game with 5 receptions and led the team with 87 yards. Germie did a little bit of everything: he rushed 4 times for 49 yards (team lead) and had 5 catches for 60 yards. One of his rushes came off a broken trick-play late in the 3rd quarter. Ty tossed the ball well behind the line of scrimmage to Germie who looked like he was going to pass the ball. With defenders in his face, he pivoted making them miss and rushed downfield picking up 18-yards and a first down. Rico Scott and Isaiah Horton received Ty’s two touchdown passes, converting red zone attempts. The run game was stagnant most of the game: Jam Miller rushed for 15 yards on 12 attempts; Kevin Riley totaled negative 2 yards on 3 rushing attempts. The run game finally picked up when Daniel Hill entered the game late in the 3rd quarter. Hill averaged 4.9 yards on 7 carries and found the endzone on a toss-sweep. He also took a screen pass 16-yards. Hill came in to help the team run out the clock and wound up sparking the offense. Ryan Grubb continued to rotate the offensive line who had a very impressive performance. Tennessee entered the game leading the SEC in sacks, with 26 through their first 6 games. Alabama’s offensive line held them to 0 (excluding Ty’s strip-sack). The line also allowed only 5 pressures (according to PFF) on 29 pass attempts. Alabama was able to take away Tennessee’s strength and attack their weakness in the secondary. The O-Line does need to improve in the run game as the Tide averaged only 3.2 yards per carry. Regardless, Ryan Grubb and staff did a great job preparing the line to go against a very talented pass-rush. Overall, the offense had a good performance, but one glaring issue remains: Alabama struggles to open the second half. Against Missouri, Ty Simpson lost a fumble on the first play of the second half and he was strip-sacked again in the 3rd quarter on Saturday. They also had a 3-and-out to start the half. Alabama did get back into rhythm with a 9-play 99-yard touchdown just before the 3rd quarter ended, but they need to be better starting the second half. This team is full of playmakers who are working well together, boding well for Alabama’s future.

Defense: Alabama’s defense held the potent Tennessee Volunteers to only 20 points, and even scored 8 points themselves. Alabama’s defense was disruptive on all three levels. On the defensive line, Yhonzae Pierre and James Smith stood out as impact players. Yhonzae recorded 2 sacks and forced the safety. His pressure on Joey Aguilar, forced an intentional grounding in the endzone which resulted in a safety. Yhonzae also recorded 3 tackles for a loss. James Smith was playing inspired football, recording 7 tackles with 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss. James did commit a personal foul on Joey Aguilar as a result of his high motor. Honorable mention, while Edrick Hill did not record a tackle, he did pressure Joey Aguillar twice. This defensive line is shaping up well after seemingly being Alabama’s biggest weakness after week 1. The linebackers played well for the most part. Middle linebackers Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green combined for 17 tackles as they were effective in run-support. Hill-Green recorded 2 tackles for loss, often setting the EDGE effectively. Justin Jefferson even had a pass breakup dropping into coverage. While the unit was effective, they did allow some big plays. Deontae Lawson missed two assignments that resulted in 19-yard rush and 44-yard touchdown. The secondary did not help them out either, but this team does need to recognize run-gaps a bit better. The secondary was an interesting unit on Saturday, full of big plays and surprises. The first surprise came as true Freshman Dijon Lee started over Senior Domani Jackson. Domani has been struggling lately, in both run and pass support so Kane decided to give Dijon an opportunity to start. Lee was effective in pass protection, allowing only 4 yards on 7 pass attempts while he was in coverage. Lee also did a great job impacting screen plays, often delivering hits near the line of scrimmage. His only lowlight came on the 44-yard touchdown run by Tennessee, where he completely whiffed on the running back in the secondary. Another surprise in the secondary surrounded Red Morgan taking over at Husky. Tennessee must have identified DeShawn Jones as a weakness in the secondary as they targeted him multiple times on their first touchdown drive. DeShawn was beat in man coverage on 3rd & 8 allowing a 30-yard pickup, then immediately lost his man in the endzone for a 3-yard touchdown pass. Red entered the game on the next defensive possession and was a spark plug for the defense. Morgan was physical at the line of scrimmage on screen plays and relentless in coverage. The superstar of the night was Zabien Brown. He made the play of the game picking off Joey Agualar at the 1-yardline and returning it 99-yards for a touchdown. Zabien was also an effective tackler, recording 3 solo tackles. Zabien earned the most snaps of any corner.

Special Teams: Conor Talty made all 5 of his PATs and did not attempt a field goal. Blake Doud continues to be a below average punter, averaging 41.7 yards per attempt on 4 punts. Two of them were low and short, traveling only 38 and 39 yards.

Week 8 Storylines Revisited:

Don’t eat the rat poison, Ty: Ty continues to play at a high level, preaching team success. He clearly does not hear the outside noise and continues to do a great job leading this locker room. After the game he said, “We’re resilient, we’re tough. I’m really proud of the guys.” He ended with “God Bless Alabama… smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.” Ty is not only a great quarterback but also an easy guy to root for.

Establish the run-game: Alabama did not establish the run until late into the game. Jam and Kevin Riley struggled to find anything on the ground, leading to carries by Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard. While they didn’t establish the run, they didn’t give up on it either. The continued rushing attempts did force Tennessee to keep the box full, opening up play action passes and downfield attempts. This continues to be the only missing piece in Alabama’s offense.

Bend-don’t-break: Alabama’s defense truly lived by the bend-don’t-break approach as they allowed only 2 touchdowns on Tennessee’s 5 red zone visits. Tennessee was able to move the ball down the field but failed to convert touchdowns against the Tide. Allowing only 20 points in a game should be more than enough for Alabama to win each week. The defense was resilient and made life difficult for a potent Tennessee offense. They did allow some big plays, but for the most part did a good job of keeping the ball in front of them.

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Roll Tide -Jake