Alabama experienced some déjà vu from the last time the team traveled to Knoxville on Saturday. The team lost to the Tennessee Volunteers 24-17 and now moves to 2-2 in SEC play.
There were a multitude of mistakes made during the game. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly for the Crimson Tide.
The good
Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard performed well. Williams was targeted 18 times and finished the game with eight catches for 73 yards and a receiving touchdown. Still, a few inaccurate throws from quarterback Jalen Milroe prevented even bigger numbers for the 17-year-old.
Bernard continued his impressive run by catching five passes for 72 yards, meaning he has recorded at least 70 receiving yards in each of the past three games. One of his catches was a 28-yard gain that set Alabama up inside the red zone and led to a touchdown.
The defense forced big turnovers. Safety Malachi Moore made a brilliant play when he stripped the ball from Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson in the red zone, and linebacker Jihaad Campbell recovered.
After Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava had to leave the game due to injury, Moore capitalized and forced another turnover by intercepting Volunteers backup Gaston Moore and returning it 41 yards, setting up the Crimson Tide offense in great field position.
The final turnover came when linebacker Que Robinson continued his excellent season by hitting Iamaleava as he threw the ball, forcing the throw right into the hands of cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe for an interception.
The bad
Graham Nicholson missed a field goal. The kicker had a chance to put Alabama up by two scores heading into halftime, but his 54-yard field goal attempt was wide right and short, keeping the game at 7-0.
The 2023 Lou Groza Award winner was expected to be reliable for the Crimson Tide but has now already missed twice as many field goals as he did the previous season, and in only four attempts.
The offense didn’t capitalize on turnovers. The three turnovers the defense forced gave the Crimson Tide a great chance to build a lead, but the offense failed to execute and scored 0 points in the three drives following the turnovers.
The running backs failed to get going. The Jam Miller and Justice Haynes duo combined for 20 carries but could only amass 64 yards for just 3.2 per carry. Neither could break off big runs, as the largest carry of the game for the Crimson Tide was 11 yards.
“When you don’t have the explosive plays, it’s just too hard to stack plays [the] whole length of the field,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said.
The ugly
Milroe played poorly. It was arguably his worst game at Alabama. He completed only 25 of his 45 passing attempts and had only one touchdown and two interceptions, meaning he now has seven turnovers in four SEC games.
Inaccuracy was the story of the game for Milroe. The receivers were doing a good job of getting open, but Milroe was consistently off-target, including the game-sealing interception in which he threw the pass behind Bernard and right into the hands of a Tennessee defender.
“I definitely got to improve on giving our guys a chance,” Milroe said.
Along with struggling to throw the ball, Milroe was unable to get going with his legs. He amassed only 11 rushing yards and was held scoreless on the ground for the first time this season.
Alabama played extremely undisciplined. It was similar to when the Crimson Tide last played in Knoxville, as the team amassed 15 penalties for 115 yards this time.
The penalties proved crucial. Alabama had Tennessee stopped on a third down in the fourth quarter, but defensive back King Mack was flagged for holding, further extending a drive that resulted in a go-ahead touchdown for the Volunteers.
“We’ve got to be better, there’s no question,” DeBoer said. “You can’t win a football game when you have mistakes like we had out there and all the penalties.”
Kendrick Law committed a costly penalty. After a third and 7 in which Law dropped a pass and was jawed at by a Tennessee defender, Law retaliated by shoving his hands into the defender’s face mask, which drew a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The penalty turned a manageable fourth and 7 into a nearly impossible fourth and 22, which the team failed to convert.
The Crimson Tide will now look to rebound as the team will return home to play the Missouri Tigers on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game can be watched on ABC.
