It’s Been a While — But This Might Be Tennessee’s Shot at Alabama In Tuscaloosa

By: Dallas Bowlin

Senior Staff Writer/Editor/Host

The All Vol Call In Show

Photo | Knoxville News Sentinel

I’m not going to give you a long spiel about how long it’s been since Tennessee last beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Just know it’s been a while — word to Aaron Lewis and Staind. This is probably the Volunteers’ best chance to do it in over two decades, but there are still some causes for concern. If Tennessee can handle these few things, the odds of victory cigars in Bryant–Denny skyrocket.

Let’s start with one of the biggest concerns surrounding this team — the defense. By the numbers, it’s not exactly airtight: Tennessee allows 257 passing yards per game (121st nationally) and 136 rushing yards (59th). Overall, the Vols rank 100th in total defense, surrendering nearly 393 yards per game. But here’s the flip side — they make up for it with chaos. Tennessee forces turnovers, racks up tackles for loss, and flat-out lives in opponents’ backfields. The Vols are second in the country in defensive touchdowns, fifth in tackles for loss, and lead the nation in sacks.

This is where the bugaboo comes into play for Tennessee’s defense against the Tide. That struggling pass defense is about to face its biggest test since Syracuse — Alabama ranks 15th nationally in passing offense. The matchup gets even trickier in the red zone, where the Vols sit at 113th in red zone defense and the Tide are ninth in red zone offense. While Tennessee wants to strike fast, Alabama prefers slow, methodical drives — dinking and dunking their way down the field as they rank seventh in time of possession. And that’s where the concern really lies.

We’ve seen it all season from Tim Banks’ defense: a soft zone, with corners giving receivers 6–7 yards of cushion. What do you do against a soft zone? Exactly what Alabama wants to do — dink and dunk. Against a lot of teams, limiting the big play via soft zone will probably win you games. Against Bama, it can get you beat. You have to be careful with your blitzes as well. The last thing you want to do is have the quarterback beat your blitz and carve you up through the air, hitting open receivers for an easy gain. I will include a picture from the Tennessee versus Arkansas game to show you just how soft the Vols' defenders have been playing in zone coverage. 

Via SEC Network

While Tennessee’s offense is putting up solid numbers on paper, there are still areas that need work — starting with third down. Against Arkansas, the Vols converted just two of nine attempts, and that struggle begins with what happens on first and second down. Too often, Tennessee found itself facing long third downs — six, seven, even eight yards or more — which completely throws off the tempo of Josh Heupel’s offense.

Finally, Josh Heupel. He has to be better. For as much as he has accomplished on Rocky Top, frankly, he has been bad lately. That’s all I’ll say. Go back to the aggressive mindset of the first few seasons, and you can win. Play conservative and call the game conservative, and it may get ugly.