“They just found a way to win, because we didn’t play that great”, Tide Coach Nick Saban said.
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“We were exhausted out there today, dead-legged, and we didn’t look really quick or fast”. I think that’s playing eight games in a row. “He has the capability of making big plays and he has made some plays, but we certainly need some of our young players to show some progress so they can play”.
Exploiting Alabama to the outside, Tennessee running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara ran for a combined 113 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
That’s a hard thing to quantify, although they are one of the toughest defenses to run on, per NCAA statistics, and they have been sacking opposing quarterbacks far more in 2015 than even the great UA defenses of the recent past tended to do. The Crimson Tide average 430 yards per game on offense including 231 passing and 199 rushing yards. On the heels of a healthy dose of preseason hype, this was supposed to be the Tennessee’s year; instead, it sat at 2-3 (0-2 SEC), with two of those three losses coming as a result of improbable, fourth-quarter comebacks. Tennessee recorded five sacks, including defensive end Derek Barnett’s third of the year and two from Corey Vereen. “Just what is the mind-set of this team right now?”
This won’t be the last time we’ll be close. It would be a real boon for this Alabama team if the kicking game continues at this level. In the end, this was the game Alabama needed its starting quarterback to be solid. Five sacks and 10 TFL’s (tackles for losses).
The Tide got plenty of help, with Tennessee (3-4, 1-3) missing three long field-goal attempts. Texas Tech again capitalized, this time on a 13-yard DeAndre Washington run, to pull within 21-17 with 7:05 to go in the second quarter. Henry scored on a 14-yard run with 2:24 left and the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide held on for a 19-14 victory over Tennessee on Saturday with an overpowering finish in a game that was surprisingly close most of the way.
Alabama looked utterly lethargic for most of the afternoon on both sides of the football.
Wide receivers Ardarius Stewart and Calvin Ridley were the true late stars for the Crimson Tide, as quarterback Jacob Coker put up jump balls for both on that final drive.
Although Alabama was trying to run down the clock as much as possible with UT still having all of its time outs remaining getting a touchdown, and not just a field goal, was the top priority.
That was more than enough time for Alabama to answer with its game-winning drive.
Mahomes completed 26-of-40 throws for 233 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions, and Washington led the Red Raiders’ ground efforts with 19 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. “It doesn’t feel good, but there are a lot of learning opportunities”. “We’ve just got to come out ready to play”. It managed to get one first down but a false start penalty put the Vols in a bad hole that Alabama’s pass rushers could exploit. The final sack sent the ball flying from Dobbs’ hands into the hands of A’Shawn Robinson.
On what they were saying when they come out for the last drive: “We knew it was going to come down to defense”. I was so hyped up I took off the other way.
The Vols have now lost 24 straight games against Top 10 teams.
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“I expect a matchup between two power football teams”, LSU linebacker Kendell Beckwith said. “We have to be ready to go, because Kentucky doesn’t really care about what happened this weekend'”.
