Unpacking Alabama football's disastrous defensive performance vs. Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ― As the Neyland Stadium field filled with Tennessee fans, Henry To’oTo’o sat on a chair in the dimly-lit tunnel outside the visiting locker room.

He was waiting for his coach, Nick Saban, to wrap up a postgame news conference before To’oTo’o would go and speak with reporters. And as To’oTo’o waited, he stared at the cement ground. He looked deep in thought, as if he was trying to make sense of what had just happened.

No. 8 Tennessee (6-0, 3-0 SEC) had just put up 52 points against he and No. 1 Alabama on Saturday. And the Crimson Tide (6-1, 3-1) lost for the first time since 2006 to the Vols, 52-49.

An otherwise disastrous performance for the defense was capped by one last drive in which Tennessee drove down the field to set up the game-winning field goal.

"Played way too soft at the end," Saban said.

So where does the defense go from here? To’oTo’o said improvement is needed everywhere.

“All across the board,” To’oTo’o said. “Up front, the linebackers and the back end. Everybody. We’ve all got to improve if we want to achieve the goals we want.”

Those goals remain intact. Alabama can still win the SEC West and secure a spot in the SEC Championship. But it’s going to take near perfection if the Crimson Tide wants to return to the College Football Playoff.

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One thing is certain: The defense must play significantly better.

It gave up 567 yards to the Vols and seven touchdowns.

The Vols entered the game averaging 46.8 points per game, second in the nation. Tennessee was going to score some points, but Alabama giving up its most points since a 1907 game against Sewanee was never supposed to be in the cards.

It was surprising how helpless the defense looked at times. The Crimson Tide entered the game with the nation’s No. 6 scoring defense, allowing only 12.5 points per game.

Before the first quarter was over, Tennessee had nearly doubled that total.

Tennessee started fast, and the up-tempo style gave the defense problems early. The Vols didn’t need four minutes on the game clock to score their first two touchdowns.

But over time, big plays became a problem. Alabama’s secondary struggled to make plays and stop from getting gashed through the air. The pressure on Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker was not always there. So he often had time or he got the ball out quick.

On the ground, Alabama's defense also gave up too much. The Crimson Tide allowed 182 rushing yards and two rushing scores.

Saban said he didn’t think the no-huddle offense was as much of a problem as covering Tennessee's receivers and allowing big plays.

Alabama gave up 18.3 yards per reception. That’s not going to win football games.

“They created a lot of mismatches, we were trying to play nickel, so they were trying to get their best receivers on safeties,” Saban said. “They did it a couple times and we gave up big plays.”

None more so than to Jalin Hyatt. The Vols receiver caught touchdowns for 36 yards, 60 yards and 78 yards. In total, he finished the day with a progam single-game record five TDs.

Alabama made adjustments to stop some of the bleeding after Tennessee’s hot start. Then Tennessee’s offense adjusted, too. Any moment when Alabama’s defense seemed to figure things out, the Vols started moving the ball again or produced another big play.

“We started dropping eight guys,” Saban said. “That helped us in the second quarter. We did the same thing in the third quarter. We played some dime so we’d have better matchups against them. We made some good adjustments in the game. We gave up too many big plays. Even in the second half, they scored on big plays.”

The defense forced two turnovers and made some fourth down stops. Those can’t be discounted. But chunk play after chunk play made life difficult.

On the final drive, the Vols went 45 yards in three plays and needed only 15 seconds.

“They do a great job at getting the playmakers the ball and getting them in space where they want them,” To’oTo’o said.

If Alabama’s defense is going to rebound, it needs to leave behind the issues that led to giving up 52 points when it returns to Tuscaloosa.

Alabama can still reach its goals, but the defense is going to have to play a heck of a lot better than it did in Knoxville.

“The season’s not done,” To’oTo’o said. “We’ve got a long season left.”

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football has disastrous defensive performance vs. Tennessee