B+
The box score shows that Alabama surrendered 24 points and gave up 347 yards to the Tennessee offense. But if you look a little deeper you will also see that the Vols only had 64 rushing yards on just 2.5 yards per carry. If you look even deeper, you will see that if you take three pass plays away from Tennessee, they would have only had 139 yards passing. Those three busted plays on the backend of the defense are what makes this a B+ performance.
On a positive note, Henry To’oTo’o and Christian Harris have put strong back-to-back performances in the middle. The interior of the defensive line played one of its best games of the season. Will Anderson Jr. continues to wreak havoc in the backfield.
Overall, a couple of plays inflated the box score for the Tennessee offense, but the plays counted, so I have to hold it against the defense.
Also, I do think the defense is showing signs of improvement.