TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Tennessee followed up one of its best first half performances of the season with a complete collapse in the second at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

Paced by quarterback Joe Milton III, the No. 17 Vols led by two scores at halftime before No. 11 Alabama shut them out and scored five times over en route to a 34-20 win.

The loss marked Tennessee's 10th-straight loss in Tuscaloosa.

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Milton, who was 16-of-22 passing for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters, was held to 53 yards in the second half as Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) controlled time of possession and limited the Tennessee (5-2, 2-2) offense.

Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe overcame a sluggish first half performance which included two turnovers and a three sacks to pass for 117 yards and two scores down the stretch.

Here is a closer look at the Vols' second loss.

Milton highlighted Tennessee's opening drive with a run on third-and-six and included him lowering his shoulder into a defender and picking up the first down.

The Vols moved quickly across the 50-yard line after that and Milton capped the drive with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Squirrel White, who made a diving grab in the end zone for his first score of the season and a 7-0 Tennessee lead less than three minutes into the first quarter.

After both teams traded punts, Tennessee was on the doorstep again, reaching the Alabama 6 but the Vols ended up settling for a 24-yard field goal from Charles Campbell to extend their lead to 10-0.

Tennessee's defense set up its offense in striking distance on the ensuing Alabama possession as James Pearce Jr. strip-sacked Milroe, leading to an Omarr Norman-Lott recovery at the 23.

Milton's pass on third down just missed off of the finger tips of Jacob Warren who was open in the back of the end zone, which led to another Campbell field goal, this one for 26 yards and a 13-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Alabama's offense showed life early on its first play of the second quarter with Jase McClellan rushing up the middle for 34 yards into Tennessee territory but Norman-Lott sacked Milroe for a 7-yard loss on third down.

Alabama got on the board with just over seven minutes left in the first half, going 59 yards in nine plays and scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Milroe to Jermaine Burton to cut its deficit to 13-7.

Tennessee took a gamble on fourth-and-1 from its own 34 but Milton was ruled short of the line to gain and Alabama took over with its best field position to that point, but the Vols' defense came up with its second takeaway of the first half with Jaylen McCollough intercepting a Milroe pass in the end zone.

Tennessee went 80 yards in two minutes with Milton tossing his second touchdown to McCallan Castles to take a 20-7 lead right before halftime.

It took Alabama just two plays to score in the third quarter. McClellan rattled off a 29-yard run then Milroe connected with Isaiah Bond on a 46-yard touchdown pass to pull the Crimson Tide within a score, 20-14.

Alabama's second drive of the quarter ended in a Will Reichard field goal from 42 yards out that made it 20-17.

Tennessee faced fourth-and-1 on its own side of the field for a second and again it didn't pay off as Dylan Sampson was stopped for no gain at the Vols' 47. Alabama made the most of a short field, scoring on a McClellan 5-yard touchdown run to take its first lead at 24-20 with less than four minutes remaining in the third.

Alabama ate up seven minutes in a 15-play drive that resulted in a Reichard 50-yard field goal to go up 27-20 with 8:17 left on the clock. The Crimson Tide defense came up with a score to swell their lead to two scores after Milton was hit from behind and coughed up the ball, resulting in a Jihaad Campbell recovery and return for a touchdown.

Tennessee drove inside the Alabama 15 with under three minutes remaining but couldn't score, all but ending the game on a Milton pass to the end zone on fourth down that fell incomplete.

White entered the season with high expectations after an impressive freshman campaign a year ago but hadn't caught a touchdown pass through six games. His first score of the season was an impressive one as he stretched out for a finger-tip grab to put Tennessee up early.

Both of the turnovers forced in the first half by the Tennessee defense were critical. The Vols turned the takeaways into points, paying off the Milroe fumble with a field goal and the McCollough interception to a touchdown to take a three-score lead before the half.

After Jalin Hyatt gave the Alabama defense fits out of the slot last season, the Crimson Tide has trouble defending White at the slot position. He had his most productive game to date and helped the Tennessee offense roll early. White finished with 10 catches for 111 yards.

In addition to his first half interception that kept Alabama off the board, McCollough was among the tackle leaders for Tennessee. He totaled seven, which was third overall on the defense.

Tennessee continues its two-game road trip against Kentucky at Kroger Field next Saturday.

The Vols beat the Wildcats 44-6 last season in Knoxville and have two-straight games in Lexington.

Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) lost to Missouri, 38-21 in its last game and were on a bye on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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