There will be no cigars in Tuscaloosa this year as the Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers 24-17 in Knoxville on Saturday. With the loss, Kalen DeBoer falls to 0-2 on the road in the SEC after being swept by the state of Tennessee. It was about as frustrating of a game as you will ever see from an Alabama team between penalties, poor third-down defense and sloppy turnovers.
The Crimson Tide defense forced three turnovers from the Volunteers’ offense in the first half but could not capitalize with any points. Alabama entered the day as one of the most penalized teams in the country, T-112th, and did not help their case with a staggering 15 flags for 115 yards. It was all capped off with an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Kendrick Law that took Alabama from 4th and manageable to 4th and 22 from their own 18 with 1:55 to go.
It was just been a wonky day as Alabama and Tennessee also combined to miss three field goals.
Ultimately, this loss falls on the offense. Haynes and Miller combined to carry the ball 19 times for just 53 yards as the Tide offense found no success on the ground. To make matters worse, it was Jalen Milroe’s poorest game of the year by far as he was 25/45 for 239 yards one touchdowns and two picks and carried the ball 14 times for 11 yards (including sacks).
With Alabama’s Playoff hopes hanging on by a thread it’s time to find out what Kalen DeBoer is made of.
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