Well, that didn’t go very well. Tennessee lost to Alabama on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa 37-20, falling to 5-2 (2-2).
Joey Aguilar did manage to continue to stretch his 200+ yard passing streak to 31 games,
throwing for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception. DeSean Bishop led Tennessee’s backfield with 123 yards on 14 carries and 2 touchdowns. Braylon Staley led the Vols with 92 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown.
The game started off poorly, as Tennessee went three and out on the opening drive, and Alabama went on an 11-play, 91-yard march to take a 7-0 lead quickly. After a pair of punts, Tennessee dug their heels in and went on to tie the game in 10 plays. Aguilar connected with Staley on 3rd and goal at the 2 in the back of the end zone to tie it up.
But that’s when things started to go wonky for the Vols. An OPI call put the Vols back towards their goal line, and Aguilar tripped over Jesse Perry’s foot in the end zone and was called for grounding and a safety. Alabama took the kickoff and drove down the field for a 16-7 lead on a 69-yard drive that ended with a Jam Miller 1-yard run.
Then, the worst thing happened for the Vols to end the first half that basically put a dagger in the Vols for the game. Tennessee drove down and got to the Bama 1-yard line with 9 seconds left. Tennessee lined up in bunch formation and called a play action rollout, which everyone in the stadium knew was coming. Aguilar threw it, but Alabama’s Zabien Brown stepped right in front and raced 99 yards for a touchdown as the clock hit all zeroes, stepping through a tackle attempt way downfield from Bishop. At 23-7 instead of 16-10 or 16-14, that basically did it for the Vols for the night.
Yes, there was a second half, and Tennessee draw closer once more. A three and out got Tennessee the ball back, and Bishop weaved through the Bama defense for a 44-yard touchdown that brought the score to 23-13. And Tennessee got the ball back again after a Ty Simpson fumble. But Tennessee did what they did – shoot themselves in the foot again. A snap before Aguilar was ready backed Tennessee up, then Mike Matthews dropped a laser from Aguilar that forced a punt.
And from there, Alabama went on a General-Sherman-march-to-the-sea 99-yard drive to put the Vols back down 3 scores at 30-13 and basically squash any remaining hope. Tennessee would get it back to 30-20 on another Bishop TD run (1 yard), but Tim Banks’ defense again offered minimal resistance, as Alabama pushed that lead back to 17 midway through the fourth quarter on a 75-yard drive.
Up next for Tennessee is Kentucky next Saturday night in Lexington.
