After narrowly falling to Tennessee in an instant classic on Saturday, Alabama coach Nick Saban lamented the Crimson Tide’s lack of discipline on defense at key stretches in the high-scoring matchup.
The sixth-ranked Volunteers toppled the No. 3 Tide, 52-49, after the winning 40-yard field goal from redshirt senior Chase McGrath in the closing seconds. The clutch kick capped a quick Vols drive that saw quarterback Hendon Hooker notch completions of 18 and 27 yards after Tennessee took over on its own 32-yard line following a missed 50-yard field goal try from Tide kicker Will Reichard with 15 seconds left.
After the game, Saban addressed the defense’s effort on the final drive and sounded none too pleased with how little resistance his team showed in crunch time.
“We played way too soft at the end to let them go down the field 50 yards and get in field goal range,” Saban told reporters.
McGrath’s heroics came at the end of a wild second half that saw the SEC rivals combine for 53 points in 12 total drives. But, on a night where neither defense appeared to have the answers, it was Saban’s Tide who made some of the most glaring mistakes of the game.
After climbing out of a 28-10 first-half deficit, Alabama took its first lead with 7:49 to go in the fourth quarter when sophomore linebacker Dallas Turner returned a fumble 11 yards for a touchdown. As the Tide looked to get off the field on the ensuing possession, junior defensive back Brian Branch was flagged for pass interference on third-and-6. Eight plays later, junior defensive back Malachi Moore got called for pass interference on fourth-and-5 after Bama appeared to come away with an interception, setting up a Jaylin Hyatt touchdown to tie the game, 49-49.
The costly penalties were the Tide’s 16th and 17th of the night, a new single-game program record, and helped set up Hyatt for his fifth touchdown catch of the game. Despite the Vols’ success moving the ball throughout the game, however, Saban insisted his squad didn’t encounter issues with the Vols’ no-huddle offense. Instead, he contended the Tide was instead hurt by self-inflicted errors.
“I don’t think the no-huddle offense was the issue for us,” Saban said. “I think it was covering their receivers and allowing way too many big plays. They created a lot of mismatches. We were trying to play nickel, so they were trying to get their best receivers on our safeties, and they did it a couple of times. … We made some good adjustments in the game but just gave up too many big plays. Even in the second half, they scored on big plays.”
As Saban described, Tennessee made big plays when it counted, and ended the night with 567 total yards, highlighted by Hooker’s 385 passing yards. To Alabama’s credit, the Tide’s offense also gave the Vols headaches, as Bryce Young, in his first game back from a shoulder injury, recorded 455 passing yards and two touchdown passes as part of Bama’s 569 yards of offense.
With Saturday’s bitter loss now in the rearview mirror, Saban and Alabama (6-1, 3-1 SEC) must go back to the drawing board and find ways to re-group after suffering the Tide’s first loss to Tennessee since 2006.
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