The No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1) is set to take on the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers (5-1) in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Last year, the Crimson Tide experienced its first loss of the season in this matchup. The Crimson White’s Deana Nichols sat down with Eric Woods, assistant sports editor of The Daily Beacon, to discuss the upcoming game.
Nichols: Obviously the game is in Tuscaloosa this year, but what has the atmosphere been like on campus this week?
Woods: I’ll be honest, there’s not a lot of hope. We have a struggling quarterback right now. And he’s not a bad quarterback by any means, but he’s not playing his best football. Especially in Saturday’s game against [Texas] A&M. He threw for 100 yards, which was actually the lowest total passing yards of the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee. I wouldn’t say the expectations aren’t there to win. I think the expectations are a close football game, but I don’t feel that. Like last year, for example, there was hope like, “Oh, we could actually win this.” People were bringing their cigars to the games. The vibe was just — I can’t think of the word, but it was just up there. Now you go and you’re going on the road, you haven’t had a lot of success on the road, and the atmosphere just isn’t really feeling it to me.
Nichols: If you’ve been able to go the practice or press conferences, what has the coaching staff been focusing on this week that they’re hoping to see on Saturday?
Woods: The biggest thing is — like I said — quarterback play. Every other facet of the game, of the football team, has just been playing really well. You have the defensive line, who is behind Bama, barely, in total sacks on the year. Then you have a running game who’s averaging 230-something yards per game. The corners are playing really well for the first time in the Josh Heupel era. The main thing is the quarterback play. Josh Heupel on Monday, he was honest. He was like, “The passing game wasn’t pretty.”
Nichols: Last year Alabama had Bryce Young in at quarterback. Now Jalen Milroe is in that QB1 position and is still adjusting. How can the Volunteers use this to their advantage?
Woods: Yeah, I mean, this Tennessee defense likes to bring the heat. The front seven is up there with, in my opinion, the best in the country, and if not, at least the SEC. I think they’re going to bring the heat. You didn’t see it against Florida because it was a really conservative style of defense, and Graham Mertz just got all the time you wanted and just dissected them with short throws. I don’t think he threw a ball over 10 yards. I think the main focus for them is just being aggressive on defense, because that’s been the root of their road struggles is they haven’t been aggressive. They’ve just sat back and let quarterbacks do whatever they want to them. I think they’re going to obviously use his [Milroe’s] inexperience to their advantage, but they also know he’s a mobile quarterback. If one guy breaks through the hole, that’s not going to cut it. They’ve really made an emphasis on the four-man pass rush, which obviously helps your coverage. … The main emphasis is being aggressive and making sure multiple guys are getting to the quarterback.
Nichols: Jermaine Burton and Jase McClellan have been able to make big plays when they’re needed the most. What can the Volunteer defense do to put a stop to this duo?
Woods: I don’t know the exact stat, but the Vols have one of the better running defenses in the country. I think they like to have the team’s strength to be their running backs. I think just in terms of stopping Jase McClellan it pretty much just boils down to doing what they’ve been doing. I don’t think there’s anything different that needs to be done. In terms of Jermaine Burton, I’m not so sure about that because while the corners have been playing really well, I mean, Kamal Hadden, he has three interceptions in his last five games. He’s the No. 1 cornerback on the team. But I’m also not — I’m still not impressed because I think the defensive line has masked a lot of the struggles of the secondary, and it’s getting there. There’s a lot of depth there. But I think the main matchup to watch in this game is Jermaine Burton versus Kamal Hadden, for sure.
Nichols: Is there anything else that you’d like to add to this conversation?
Woods: Not really, I mean, obviously this game is looking a lot different than last year. I think the over-under is like 48.5 when both teams last year scored over that. These teams look a lot different. I’m expecting Bama to win. My score prediction was 30-21. It’s going to be a close game, I think. I still don’t know what to expect because I feel like we haven’t learned all we need to know about these two teams yet.
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 2:30 p.m. CT in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
