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VOLS FALL TO NO. 1 ALABAMA, 45-10
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A
week after knocking off No. 11 South Carolina, the Vols lost to the top
team in the land, No. 1 Alabama, 45-10, before 101,821 at Bryant-Denny
Stadium.
"We probably played our worst half of football
that we have played all year," Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said of
the 35-0 hole Tennessee fell into. "Some of it was due to the quality
of our opponent. Some of it was self-inflicted wounds. We talked about
having to start fast. We gave up a long kickoff return, then they
scored. Third down we fell over and gave up a big play. Everything had
a snowball effect.
"The next step in the evolution of our
football program and football team is to learn how to win on the road.
When you play on the road, you are responsible for creating your own
momentum and opportunities. Obviously, we did not do that in any way,
shape or form in the first half. That is very disappointing."
Alabama's
T.J. Yeldon ran for three touchdowns and 72 yards. Quarterback A.J.
McCarron threw for 275 yards on 19-of-27 passing with two scoring
tosses. Kevin Norwood hauled in six catches for 112 yards and a
touchdown.
Vols' quarterback Justin Worley started, but
was banged up and played the first half only, finishing with 120 yards.
Freshman Joshua Dobbs made his college debut and led the Vols to their
first scoring drive of the day, early in the third quarter.
Tennessee
made sure it wouldn't be shutout for the 238th consecutive game as
Michael Palardy kicked a 37-yard field goal with 12:53 left in the
third quarter. That ended a run of 104 consecutive points by Alabama
dating back to the Kentucky game on Oct. 12.
Dobbs then
led the Vols to the first touchdown against Alabama at home in 2013.
Early in the fourth quarter, Dobbs engineered a 9-play, 55-yard drive
that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run by Rajion Neal (13 carries
for 70 yards). The score, which was originally ruled down outside the
end zone, was corrected by video review for Neal's ninth TD of the
season and the first allowed by Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium this
season.
Dobbs, who became the 15th true freshman to play
for the Vols in 2013, finished the day with 75 yards on 5-of-12
passing. Fellow freshman Marquez North topped the Tennessee receiving
chart with 87 yards on four catches.
"In the second half,"
said Jones, "I thought our players showed grit and fight, but we just
didn't play winning football in all areas. We had dropped passes. We
lost leverage in a football place. Lost leverage can be caused by
playing a good defense. In a lot ways, we would lose leverage on
football plays and they would lead to big football plays."
Tennessee and Alabama, played to a 10-10 score in the second half.
The
Crimson Tide continued its first-half dominance, outscoring the Vols
35-0 in the first 30 minutes. Dating to its second game vs. Texas
A&M, Alabama has scored 179 consecutive first-half points, over a
span of more than 200 minutes.
Alabama came right of the
gates, scoring just 1:28 into the game as Amari Cooper scored on a
54-yard swing pass from McCarron. That came three plays after a 49-yard
kickoff return by Christion Jones to open the game.
The
Tide took a 14-0 lead on a Yeldon 1-yard burst up the middle with 8:44
left in the first quarter. The lead expanded to 21-0 on a 22-yard pass
from McCarron to Kevin Norwood with 28 seconds left in the first half.
That drive consumed 12 plays and 5:34.
Yeldon added his second 1-yard TD run for a 28-0 lead for Alabama with 7:18 left in the first half.
Alabama
appeared to be taking a 35-0 lead when Kenyan Drake fumbled going in
for a score and Cameron Sutton recovered the ball for the Vols at their
own 2-yard line. It was the first turnover by Alabama in three weeks.
With
Tennessee driving late in the first half -- looking to end the Crimson
Tide's first-half dominance, Worley was intercepted by Landon Collins,
who returned the pick 89 yards for a 35-0 lead with a dozen seconds
left in the first half.
The Vols had three of the longest
plays on offense against Alabama, all season. In the first half, Worley
connected with Cody Blanc on a 43-yard bomb and a 38-yard strike to
North. Early in the second quarter, Rajion Neal ripped off a 43-yard
rush. Only Texas A&M's 95-yard pass from Johnny Manziel to Mike
Evans on Sept. 14 and Trey Edmunds' 77-yard rush for Virginia Tech on
Aug. 31 were longer.
It was the Vols' seventh consecutive loss to Alabama dating to a 2006 UT victory, 16-13, in Knoxville.
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