Alabama hammers Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Long before Alabama put the final touches on its 29-9 victory over Tennessee, the Crimson Tide defense played with the swagger of a unit that recognized its dominance.

Put in jeopardy by the kicking game several times in the first half, the nation’s fourth-ranked rushing defense and the Southeastern Conference’s second-ranked defense against the run never buckled.

After the Tide took Tennessee’s best shots early, the Vols had nothing left but quarterback Nick Stephens, who had neither the time, the receivers nor the arm to lead the Vols back when they became one-dimensional.

Tennessee, shuffling a backfield of dangerous running backs Arian Foster, Montario Hardesty and Lennon Creer, against an Alabama team missing nose tackle Terrence Cody, finished with 36 yards rushing.

More important, after the Vols held the ball for more than 16 minutes in the first half, they kept it just 8:22 in the second half.

“We played well for 60 minutes,” Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said. “I am proud of our players. Tennessee has a great team and this was a great win. We played really well in the second half.”

But in the first half, when it was up for grabs, Alabama made the plays that counted.

Alabama didn’t dominate the first half. But it did make plays when it counted and built a 13-3 advantage going into halftime.

“They way we ran the ball, the running backs did really good,” quarterback John Parker Wilson said after the Tide rolled up 178 yards on the ground and 188 yards through the air. “We were able to mix in the pass, and come up with a good attack. The way our defense was playing, if we just moved the ball and scored, we were going to win the game.”

That Alabama defense emerged from some adversity largely unscathed in the first 30 minutes.

Leigh Tiffin kicked a 39-yard field goal to cap the Crimson Tide’s opening drive. It marked the fourth time in four road games that Alabama has scored on its first possession.

Tennessee countered with help from Javier Arenas. The Tide’s return specialist coughed up Britton Colquitt’s 54-yard punt when he was hit by LaMarcus Thompson. Tennessee teammate Dennis Rogan recovered the fumble at the 5.

After a false start penalty against Tennessee, the Alabama defense hounded Vol quarterback Nick Stephens. Brandon Deaderick hurried him into an incompletion, and Rashad Johnson shot up the middle on a safety blitz and sacked him for a seven-yard loss. The Vols settled for Daniel Lincoln’s 31-yard field goal that tied the game.

A shanked punt by Colquitt gave Alabama excellent field position late in the first quarter. Alabama took advantage on Tiffin’s 43-yard field goal. He later added a 30-yarder, marking the ninth time the junior has made at least three in a game. He has now made 46 career field goals, fourth on the school’s list.

The key sequence of the first half, however, came when Tennessee pinned Alabama to the 3-yard line to start a drive early in the second quarter.

The home crowd got into the game when Alabama went three-and-out. It went crazy when P.J. Fitzgerald’s punt was partially blocked by Hardesty — setting up the Vols on the Alabama 32.

But Tennessee couldn’t take advantage. The Vols’ Lincoln missed a 51-yard field goal attempt.

Wilson, who finished 17-for-24 passing for 188 yards, drove the team 66 yards in just six plays. The march started with a 19-yard strike to Julio Jones. The next play he found Jones for 35 yards to the Tennessee 12.

“I didn’t see it,” Wilson said. “I was on the ground. But it was a big point in the game. We knew we had to come out and score. I didn’t see it, though, but I assume he made a good play. He was on the ground by the time I saw him.“

Jones finished with six receptions for 103 yards, both career highs for the freshman. He is the first Alabama receiver to gain more than 100 yards since D.J. Hall scorched the Vols for 185 last season.

The Tide wasn’t done, however. Facing fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 3, Saban kept his offense on the field. Glen Coffee crashed over left tackle and bulled into the end zone, hitting the hole inside a kickout block by Mike Johnson and getting a screen and a seal from Travis McCall and Roy Upchurch.

That gave Alabama a 13-3 lead it took into halftime. As the second half unfolded, it became evident the Tide’s lead wasn’t in danger.

“I’m obviously very disappointed in the second half with our play,” Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said, who fell to 11-4 as a head coach against Alabama. “The first half, we more than held our own. We come out the second half, made a bad play and went south from there.”

Arenas sacked Stephens in the opening moments of the third quarter, then returned a punt 22 yards to the Tennessee 33 on a squirming, darting run.
That set up Tiffin’s 30-yard field goal and set the tone for the second half.

The Vols faced fourth-and-1 at their own 35 on the next possession, but punted it away.

Alabama then broke it open when it went 12 plays and 79 yards in more than six minutes. The march was interrupted by a replay delay. Mark Ingram was ruled down before his apparent fumble was returned by UT’s Eric Berry 47-yard return for a touchdown. Replay upheld the call that Ingram was down.

Upchurch, who finished with a team-high 86 yards rushing, got the Tide to the 1-yard line on a 10-yard gain. Wilson scored on a sneak on the next play to make it 22-3.

The Tide went up 29-3 on Upchurch’s 4-yard run with 9:43 left in the game.

“We played physical most of the time, and I think our intensity certainly fueled our success,” Saban said. “When we have it, we’re pretty good because we are physical.

“We’re a blue-collar team. ... We’ve got to play good defense. We’ve got to be able to run it. We’ve got to be able to throw it. We’ve got to have balance. But when we don’t have our intensity, when we don’t play with a sense of urgency, it doesn’t work out too well.”

Most things worked very well Saturday night.

First quarter
10:18 Alabama 3, Tennessee 0: Leigh Tiffin 39-yard field goal. 11 plays, 50 yards, 4:34. Key play: A screen pass from John Parker Wilson to Roy Upchurch gained 10 yards to the Tennessee 21 to put the Tide in scoring position.

6:28 Alabama 3, Tennessee 3: Daniel Lincoln 31-yard field goal. 4 plays, minus-9 yards, 1:34. Key play: Javier Arenas took a Tennessee punt at the 11, fumbled on a hit by LaMarcus Thompson. The ball was recovered by the Vols’ Dennis Rogan at the Alabama 5-yard line.

1:37 Alabama 6, Tennessee 3: Tiffin 43-yard field goal. 5 plays, 21 yards, 2:00. Key play: A shanked 22-yard punt by Britton Colquitt put the Tide in good field position. Wilson hit Julio Jones for 13 yards to get them into field goal range.

Second quarter
2:41 Alabama 13, Tennessee 3: Glen Coffee 3-yard run (Tiffin PAT). 6 plays, 66 yards, 3:03. Key play: Wilson hit Jones on a deep pass up the right sideline for 35 yards and a first down at the UT 12. The touchdown came four plays later on fourth-and-1 at the 3.

Third quarter
10:28 Alabama 16, Tennessee 3: Tiffin 30-yard field goal. 6 plays, 20 yards, 3:16. Key play: Javier Arenas made a spinning, darting return of a punt xx yards for a first down at the Tennessee 33.

1:38 Alabama 22, Tennessee 3: John Parker Wilson 1-yard run (2-point pass for Nick Walker from Wilson failed). 12 plays, 79 yards, 6:25. Key play: An apparent fumble by Mark Ingram was picked up by Eric Berry and returned 47 yards for a Tennessee touchdown. However, replay ruled Ingram down before the fumble.

Fourth quarter
9:43 Alabama 29, Tennessee 3: Roy Upchurch 4-yard run (Tiffin PAT). 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:31. Key play: Upchurch capped the march with four straight carries. The first of those gained 19 yards around left end and moved the ball to the UT 17.

7:26 Alabama 29, Tennessee 9: Josh Briscoe 10-yard pass from Nick Stephens (2-point pass to Lucas Taylor from Stephens failed). 7 plays, 63 yards, 2:07. key plays: Alabama defenders were Rashad Johnson and Javier Arenas were each flagged once for pass interference on the drive.