Maybe a few other time against a few other opponent. Nobody’s supposed to be able to do that to Alabama, and in the context of this game, that lightning strike was a weird mutation.
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Here are the five things we learned about the Vols in their loss to the Tide. “… We believed we were going to win the football game coming here”.
Tennesse’s final drive was plagued by a penalty and two sacks.
Alabama drove 73 yards on 12 plays on its opening drive of the second half, but the Vols’ defense made a goal-line stand with Cameron Sutton batting way a potential two-yard touchdown pass on a quick slant. We showed them that we can compete. We’ve just got to finish. “Your back is against the wall and you hear all the noise”, Rebels’ coach Hugh Freeze said. The offense had done just enough.
NOTES: Alabama safety Eddie Jackson left the game in the first quarter because of a knee injury, but returned in the second half.
The third miss came with Tennessee down 10-7 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, and Jones said he considered going for the fourth-and-10 from Alabama’s 33.
It won’t make Vols fans feel any better now, but this team is on the right track, even if it still can’t find a way to close out tight games. But that’s when the Tide took control.
Coker finished 21 of 27 for 247 yards with an interception. Henry ended the game with 28 carries, 143 yards, and two touchdowns. “It’ll be a fun experience, just being in Bryant-Denny (Stadium), but at the end of the day, we’re got a job to do over here, so that’s what I’m focused on”. The drive included a terrific 18-yard pass to Johnathon Johnson down the left seam and an Alabama pass interference that put UT at the Tide’s 13-yard line. And it looked like they just might do that as Dobbs connected with Malone for another first down.
Take the Alabama defense that turned any given Bulldogs quarterback into marmalade. We’re not thinking about those past games when we go out on the field. “So sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to win the game”.
Kentucky’s Patrick Towles completed 23 of 42 passes for 218 yards with two interceptions and one rushing touchdown. The three that stand out are Texas A&M-Mississippi, Texas Tech-Oklahoma and Utah-USC. By passing Bond, Prescott now ranks third in SEC history for career rushing yards by a quarterback behind Arkansas’ Matt Jones (2,535 from 2001-04) and Florida’s Tim Tebow (2,947 from 2006-09)…
But as dominating as the Tide was against Georgia and Texas A&M, this was impressive in its own way. “And I appreciate this and I hope our fans can hear this because this is the kind of place we should be”, Saban said, per Al.com. “We had a lot of dead-legged guys”.
The Tigers and the Crimson Tide cleared their last hurdles Saturday heading into open dates this week for both teams. So I for one do not EVER remember the Vols beating the Crimson Tide. I think they were mentally and physically exhausted today. While the matchup has been onesided as of late, the games always come down to the wire and feature quality football regardless of what state the team is in. Then comes what figures to be the most hyped Southeastern Conference game of the regular season. “It’s tough to defend that stuff – I’m sure we could have done a little better, but you’ve got to give them a lot of credit for what they did”.
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Instead, all that will matter is the bottom line.
