THE DAY AFTER - ALABAMA: SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM!!!
We were all sweating this one...admit it, you were nervous...I sure was!
It wasn’t just “the third weekend in October” this time. This time, the stakes of the Tennessee-Alabama matchup were about as high as we can remember. The winner continues their weekly climb to qualify for the new field of 12 in the College Football Playoff. As for the loser: your back is against the wall the rest of the way, and even if you win out, a 10-2 record is no longer a guarantee to get into the CFP...not with the Clemson’s, the LSU’s, the Texas A&M’s, the Indiana’s, the BYU’s...hell, the Army’s and Navy’s of the world continuing to win...and win big! We were anxious, unsure, concerned about this one.
And why wouldn’t we be? We’ve witnessed a three-game stretch where the Vols have averaged 21 points a game. Sure, our opponents had only averaged 16 in those same three games, but the once vaunted Tennessee Pyrotechnic level offense looked pedestrian, lacking creativity...playing not to lose, exhibiting the worst “C” word a Vol football fan can imagine...conservative. And now, we step up into the ring with our arch-nemesis...the evil empire...Ala-bama! This isn’t the Saban era Crimson Tide that wrecked so many of our mid-October Saturday’s, instead it’s a team with a new Coach still finding his way with a brand-new program full of unknowns. A team with a porous defense, and a sometimes explosive, but often undisciplined offense. Still, it’s Alabama, and we know that, as our fans often say...we need to “keep our cup on” when you play the Tide.
That said, Alabama felt perfectly beatable...although it sure didn’t feel that way in the first half on Saturday. For the second week in a row, the Vols defense comes out early and locks down their opponent, gets the ball back and looks crisp on offense...marches down the field almost into the red zone...only to lose the ball on a turnover. That became the metronome for the 1st half, where the Vol defense shuts the Tide down (BTW, Jermod McCoy’s breath-taking interception in the endzone will be part of Vol lore from here on out!), the offense struggles and gives the ball back. Tell me if you’ve heard this scenario before, but the Vols go into halftime scoreless, but still only one score down to their opponent. So you’re sayin’ there’s a chance! Still, it left us all bewildered, pissed, unsure if our team was really any good...simply put, it felt rough to be a Vol fan yet again!
But the second half came, and per the recent script, the Vols turned up the heat...but this second half glow-up was different. On Friday’s episode of Under Review, I referred to the “non-negotiable keys” for Tennessee to win this game against Alabama. Those non-negotiables weren’t being met at all in the first half, so it feels like a good time to reconcile those now and measure them against the boys 2nd half performance:
THE NON-NEGOTIABLE KEYS TO THIS GAME
(FROM UNDER REVIEW ON FRIDAY):
ON OFFENSE:
- Establish the running game first and foremost
WELL, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, WELL OVER 100 YARDS RUSHING IN THE 2ND HALF BY SAMPSON (GOD BLESS DYLAN SAMPSON BTW!), DESEAN BISHOP, AND NICO...SO, CHECK!
- If the run game gets going, then the Vol offense needs to change it up…get Nico out of the pocket and moving around!
THIS WAS A TALE OF TWO HALVES...NICO LOOKED OFF (AGAIN) IN THE FIRST HALF, BUT AN INJURY THAT PUT HIM ON THE BENCH FOR A MOMENT MAY HAVE BEEN THE WAKE-UP CALL HE NEEDED. SOMETHING CHANGED...A VERY DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE IN THE 2ND HALF FOR #8. HE WAS COOKIN’, INCLUDING GREAT DESIGNED RUNS AND ABSOLUTE DIMES TO DONTE THORNTON AND CHRIS BRAZZELL AT CRITICAL MOMENTS IN THE GAME. SO...CHECK!
-Need to bring tempo back to the offense
NOT ALL THE WAY BACK YET, BUT DEFINITE SIGNS THAT IT’S ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL!!! TBD ON THIS ONE...
- Vols have to improve on 3rd down efficiency (34%) ALMOST 50% FOR THIS GAME, SO...CHECK!
-Keep the Tide D on the field like Vandy and SC did
JUST ABOUT EVEN IN TIME OF POSSESSION FOR THE GAME, WHICH WAS ENOUGH IN A GAME LIKE THIS FOR THE OFFENSE TO WEAR BAMA’S INEVITABLY SLIPSHOD DEFENSE DOWN IN THE END
- For all of this to happen, note to the O-line: protect, and exhibit discipline! THE REFS WERE A PROBLEM IN THIS ONE, ACTING AS “GAMEFLOW PREVENTION AGENTS”, CALLING 26 PENALTIES BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMS, BUT THE VOLS WERE AT LEAST PENALIZED LESS THAN THE TIDE, AND HONESTLY, THE O-LINE SHOWED UP, PROTECTED AND RUN-BLOCKED EFFECTIVELY IN THE 2ND HALF!
ON DEFENSE:
- Contain Jalen Milroe; keep him to 60-70% of his typical self
- While it’s almost impossible to shut him down entirely…minimize him.
MILROE HAD 14 CARRIES FOR 11 YARDS, AND THE VOLS D MADE HIM THROW A LOT, WHICH ISN’T THE BAMA ROADMAP TO VICTORY. I SAY, CHECK!
- Stop the Ryan Williams “home run” plays
SURE, 8 CATCHES FOR 73 YARDS AND A TD IS SOLID, BUT THAT WAS ON 20...THAT’S TWENTY TARGETS, AND HIS LONGEST GAIN WAS 16 YARDS…FOR A GUY AVERAGING 25 YARDS PER CATCH! SO...CHECK, CHECK, AND CHECK!!!
Quite a transformation in that second half! The turnaround was complete after Vol Everyman Will Brooks picked off Milroe with a little over a minute left in the game. All that was left was the cigar lighting, the field storming, and the playing of Dixieland Delight. Another special third weekend on October, complete! The Vols win 24-17, beating Alabama (and Florida for that matter) in Neyland for the second straight time. Sure it’s only the 2nd time in the last 17 meetings that the Big Orange get the W, but you can feel the tide turning (yeah, I did that!)...Tennessee is no longer the perpetual underdog. Who knows, that may be Alabama’s role in this rivalry now! One thing’s for sure; this season’s Tide team is definitely a much less special vintage than they were in almost all of the Nick Saban era, and they’ve fast become a bit of a longshot for the playoffs this season.
As for Tennessee, the win begins their re-write for this season. The story changed dramatically yet again with Saturday’s performance. A well-timed bye week awaits, and then it’s back to the week by week climb to the playoffs. At 6-1, the Vols have proven that they can win games even when there are moments that they’re not at their best. If they can continue to improve upon playing within themselves on offense, they don’t need to score in bunches to win. With a historically good defense on their side, it feels more and more that even scoring 30 points a game could be enough for this team to win every time.
In just about 2 weeks time, things have gone from highly optimistic, to agonizing, to highly concerning, back to highly encouraging for the Vols. We all need a break...not just the players, but the fans too! Let’s enjoy the break in the action this week, and buckle up for the final drive to the Playoffs!
