Four quick takes on a beatdown
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Most everyone expected for Tennessee to get hammered today, and Alabama obliged, laying a 45-7 beatdown on the Vols to drop them to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the SEC. Here are four quick takeaways after a long afternoon for the orange and white.
1 — The second quarter — No one, at least anyone I’m aware, had given Tennessee a snowball’s chance of throwing a care into Alabama today. Yet, midway through the second quarter, the Vols’— thanks to the defense only — were kind of hanging around, down only 7-0. Then the flood gates opened and the Vols found themselves in deep trouble.
Most frustrating for those with orange-tinted rooting interests, things got out of hand at least partly as a result of the Vols’ own mistakes.
The two biggest gaffes came on what turned into a monster 15 play, 85 yard drive that put Bama on top 14-0.
That disaster began when the Vols allowed a first down conversion on 3rd & 10 from Alabama’s own 15 yard line. From there Alabama marched into Tennessee territory and appeared to score on a 34 yard pass to Irv Smth but the ball was punched out just before he crossed the goal line and went through the end zone.
Unfortunately for the Vols, Jonathan Konbgo was flagged for illegal hands to the face on the play, his first of two such offenses in the first half, which resulted in Bama being granted a 1st and goal from the 1.
Tennessee still had a chance to keep the Tide out of the end zone when Bama was called for delay of game and backed up to the six yard line. The Vols bailed them out on 3rd and goal from the six though with a defensive holding call that put the Crimson Tide on the door step where they cashed in for a 14-0 lead.
Alabama would tack on anther score before the half to take a commanding 21-0 lead into the locker room. All told the second quarter was just a bludgeoning that highlighted the vast gulf that currently exists between these two programs.
In the second quarter alone Alabama out gained Tennessee 161 yards to 31 and had nine first downs. Whatever hopes, dreams and aspirations the Vols carried into Tuscaloosa died in that second quarter.
2 — Youth movement — Injuries and in some cases performance, led the staff to throw multiple young players into the mix today. It certainly wasn’t perfect, as the final score strongly suggests, but several young guys showed themselves to be SEC caliber performers with bright futures if they continue to develop.
First on that list for me today was Shawn Shamburger who got the start in place of an injured Justin Martin at corner. Shamburger some ‘welcome to the SEC’ moments, one in particular that was provided by Damien Harris early in the game stands out. But he showed some toughness and ability.
Shamburger led all defensive players with 12 tackles on the day and added a sack in the second quarter coming off the edge on a blitz. Coverage wise he didn’t give up any big plays, which for a freshman in today’s environment, is a fairly big deal.
Will Ignont didn’t play a ton at middle linebacker, but the true freshman was in the game getting some work in the first half, by far his most meaningful action of the season. He didn’t have any obvious gaffes and got in a tackle.
Theo Jackson also got some significant run at safety, made a couple of tackles and generally looked like the long, rangy athlete the staff started raving about back in fall camp.
Lastly, Daniel Bituli has seen plenty of playing time this fall, but we need to work in a shout out to him somewhere. Bituli provided what was pretty much the lone Tennessee highlight of the day, intercepting Tua Tagovailoa at the Vols’ three yard line and racing 97 yards down the sidelines for the Vols’ lone score of the day.
That play snapped the Vols’ streak of not scoring a touchdown at 12. However, the streak of no offensive touchdowns marches on unimpeded and now stands at 14.
3 — Guarantano — I’m not going to sit here and suggest that Jarrett Guarantano played a great game today. He didn’t. But frankly, I’m not sure that Peyton Manning himself would have had a great deal of success against the Crimson Tide today, not with the contributions from the other 10 players on the offense.
The Vols were absolutely manhandled up front today with Guarantano getting sacked four times and hit hard on numerous other occasions. Separation by the receivers against Alabama’s defensive backs was non-existent from my vantage point and there was no semblance of a ground game to take any pressure off the young quarterback making his first career road start.
What I saw today from the redshirt freshman was a off-the-charts amount of toughness and a competitive spirit that rubs off on others. His numbers weren’t remotely impressive 9-of-16, 44 yards, 1 INT, but I think it’s a safe bet he earned some more respect from his teammates today.
The most impressive thing Guarantano did, or didn’t do in this case, was nearly make it through the game without committing a turnover. Had he done so he would have gone through his first eight quarters as a starter without turning the ball over.
The one miscue he had in that regard, an interception on the goal line late in the fourth quarter, means that Tennessee has now gone 14 quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown. An incredible and disheartening stat if you’re a fan.
4 — The gap is enormous — This is certainly stating the obvious after today’s rout, but the gap between these two programs at the moment is enormous. I mean the chasm is of Grand Canyon proportions at this point in time.
Yes, you can absolutely say that about maybe every other program in the SEC except for Georgia as it relates to Alabama. However, every other program doesn’t have 102,000 seat stadium and the tradition that Tennessee does.
To see this rivalry slip to what it’s become, basically a scrimmage for Alabama, is embarrassing and infuriating for those people that truly love Tennessee football.
The Vols have been competitive exactly one time in recent memory, a 19-14 loss in Tuscaloosa in 2015. Outside of that game, you have to go back to the Lane Kiffin ‘era’ in 2009 to find a match-up between these two storied SEC programs that was remotely competitive.
Alabama is a machine right now and Tennessee is a mess.
Numbers don’t always tell the whole story, but they paint a pretty accurate picture of Alabama’s dominance today.
Alabama out gained the Vols 608-108 today. Let that number sink in for a minute. That may not even be my favorite stat to highlight the dominance, I think I’d go with the 35 first downs the Tide piled up to just 7 for Tennessee.
I don’t think Butch Jones’ should be evaluated solely on his track record against Alabama, if that were the case pretty much every coach in the country with the exception of Dabo Swinney and the man who disdains burner phones, Hugh Freeze, would be considered abject failures.
But you can’t let things slip to this point, where the chasm that exists between you and you’re most historical rival looks absolutely insurmountable.
The level distance between these two programs isn’t something that can be overcome with one awesome recruiting class or a couple of upgrades among your assistants. It’s a long term job and if Saturday did nothing else, it pounded that point home emphatically.