Here are the takeaways from Alabama’s brutal 24-17 loss to Tennessee on Saturday.
The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide, 24-17, on Saturday at Neyland Stadium to hand coach Kalen DeBoer’s team their second loss of the season.
Alabama dropped to 5-2 overall and just 2-2 in SEC play, while Tennessee improved to 6-1 (3-1 in the SEC).
Here are five takeaways from an ugly afternoon in Knoxville.
The numbers don’t lie
Tennessee outgained Alabama in total offense by over 100 yards; the Vols had 408 yards to the Tide’s 303. Included in that was a glaring 214-64 edge in rushing yards. On third downs, Alabama was 3-of-14 compared to Tennessee’s 7-of-15. Defensively, the Vols’ had nine tackles for loss (-37 yards) to Alabama’s four (-18 yards).
When you look at those numbers, the game wasn’t as close as it was on the scoreboard. That’s a much bigger issue for Alabama.
Tide can’t capitalize on Tennessee mistakes
Tennessee turned the ball over three times against Alabama. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava and backup Gaston Moore threw interceptions in Alabama territory, and Malachi Moore forced a Dylan Sampson fumble at the Crimson Tide 18-yard line on Tennessee’s first possession.
Alabama didn’t take advantage, eventually stalling and punting the ball back to Tennessee after the Sampson fumble. They went three and out after Gaston Moore’s interception when Iamaleava had briefly left the game, and again went three and out after he returned and was picked off by Jaylen Mbakwe.
Tennessee missed a 50-yard field goal try with 4:06 to play in the opening half, only for Alabama to attempt a 54-yard field goal try from Graham Nicholson that was no good.
Alabama remains an undisciplined football team
Penalties, penalties, and more penalties. It was a recurring theme in Saturday’s loss, the second in three years to the Vols. Alabama was flagged 15 times for 115 yards. The most egregious of those came when Kendrick Law lost his cool and was flagged for shoving Tennessee defensive back Boo Carter just after the two-minute timeout in the fourth quarter. The personal foul on Law turned a 4th-and-7 play into 4th and 22.
By all accounts, it was an ugly, sloppy game from both teams. Tennessee was flagged 11 times for 95 yards. But the Vols left more points off the scoreboard than Alabama did, and a more disciplined team than Tennessee wouldn’t have needed an interception on the final drive to seal the game.
Jalen Milroe is regressing
It pains me to say this because he’s been one of my favorite players since stepping on to the field in place of Bryce Young in 2022 against Texas A&M and leading the Tide to victory on that early October night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
But against Tennessee, Milroe seemed more like that 2022 or early 2023 version of himself than the quarterback who went on to lead Alabama to the College Football Playoff and an SEC Championship Game win over Georgia.
With Alabama facing 2nd and goal from the 3-yard line late in the first quarter, Milroe made a critical error when trying to hit Ryan Williams that resulted in an easy interception by Jermod McCoy. Milroe’s inconsistencies stayed with him throughout the afternoon, and when he missed a wide-open Williams late in the fourth quarter for a potential big gain, the outcome felt inevitable.
Alabama is not a playoff team
This shouldn’t even need to be said. But we’re seven games into the 2024 season. When you’ve played over half your schedule, you are what your body of work says you are. In this case, it’s a wildly inconsistent, undisciplined football team that’s shown flashes of greatness but hasn’t performed to a standard from game to game.
I’m not sure where Alabama goes from here, but it won’t be the College Football Playoff. And given Alabama’s brutal schedule this year, including the Missouri Tigers next Saturday in Tuscaloosa, I’m not sure there’s a game you can objectively circle as a win in SEC play.
