Grading Alabama’s performance in convincing win over Tennessee

Stacey Blackwood
·3 min read
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Alabama’s 52-24 victory over Tennessee might be the most unusual 28 point win that I can remember. There were times when the offense seemed unstoppable, but there were also times they couldn’t get out of their own way. The defense was great other than about three or four plays. The special teams unit was really responsible for about 10 points that the Volunteers scored in the contest. So this really is a strange game to dissect.

Nevertheless, we are back for our weekly final grade post for the Tide’s performance. Let’s see how things turned out this week.

First … the offense… A-

Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

The Alabama offense racked up 574 total yards and scored 52 points against the Volunteers. The balanced attack created issues for the Tennessee defense throughout the entire contest.

Bryce Young delivered yet another superb performance, throwing for 371 yards and two touchdowns and added another 42 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns there as well.

Brian Robinson Jr. hammered away at the Tennessee defense for 107 yards on 26 carries and found pay dirt three times in the contest.

Both Jameson Williams and John Metchie III went over the 100-yard receiving mark in the matchup.

It was a really solid performance for the Tide offense, if not for a couple of series stretches where they went three and out, this would have been an A+ performance.

Next … the defense… B+

Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

The box score shows that Alabama surrendered 24 points and gave up 347 yards to the Tennessee offense. But if you look a little deeper you will also see that the Vols only had 64 rushing yards on just 2.5 yards per carry. If you look even deeper, you will see that if you take three pass plays away from Tennessee, they would have only had 139 yards passing. Those three busted plays on the backend of the defense are what makes this a B+ performance.

On a positive note, Henry To’oTo’o and Christian Harris have put strong back-to-back performances in the middle. The interior of the defensive line played one of its best games of the season. Will Anderson Jr. continues to wreak havoc in the backfield.

Overall, a couple of plays inflated the box score for the Tennessee offense, but the plays counted, so I have to hold it against the defense.

Also, I do think the defense is showing signs of improvement.

Next … special teams…

C-

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

It was a rough night for the special teams unit Saturday in Tuscaloosa. In my opinion, special team mistakes cost the Tide 10 points in the contest.

First, the punt return team roughed the Tennessee punter after the Alabama defense had the Vols backed up to a fourth down and forever and that sparked the Tennessee offense and they scored just a couple of plays later.

Then, the punt team gave up a blocked punt. Fortunately, the Tide defense stood strong and held the Tennessee offense to just three points.

This was probably the worst performance of the season for the special teams unit.

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