Tennessee enters tonight a 5 touchdown underdog to Alabama. Can Tennessee play with the #1 team in the country? Here are four keys to doing that in an uphill battle with our weekly Cheat Sheet.

1. Limit big plays - One of the keys in the Mississippi State win was Tennessee’s ability to tackle in space. The Bulldogs had one play of 20 yards or more. Alabama thrives with the big play. Against Texas A&M, Alabama had 3 touchdown plays of 30 yards or more. Against South Carolina, the Tide had 4 touchdown plays of 20 yards or more. Against Ole Miss, the ‘Bama offense had 5 touchdown plays of 20+ yards.

Alabama will make some plays. Tennessee has to limit the number of chunk plays which means they must find a way to somehow tackle in space.

2. Shorten the game — The best defense for Tua Tagovailoa is to take the ball out of his hands and have him watch on the sidelines. Tennessee must stay on schedule down and distance wise and they must move the chains forcing Tagovailoa and his offensive mates to stand and watch. The Vols dominated time of possession in the second half in the win over Mississippi State. That must continue and Tennessee must shorten the game by bleeding the play clock and keeping the Tide offense on the sidelines as much as possible.

3. Play clean, get help — Tennessee only committed 3 penalties last week in the win over Mississippi State. The Vols did throw 2 interceptions, but they didn’t turn it over in the second half. For the most part Tennessee played clean football. To shock the college football world, Tennessee will have to play the cleanest they have played all year. Jeremy Pruitt’s team also needs help. In South Carolina’s upset of Georgia last week, the Bulldogs turned it over four times. Tennessee needs that kind of help from the Crimson Tide who has has only turned four times this season. Tua Tagovailoa has 27 touchdowns and just one interception. Tennessee needs some serious help from the Tide.

4. Survive the middle 8 — That’s what Jeremy Pruitt calls the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. Alabama has thrived in that span. The outscored Ole Miss 21-0. They outscored Texas A&M 10-3. Tennessee hasn’t been very good in that window. Against BYU they missed a touchdown to end the half and threw an interception to start the second half. Against Georgia, they missed a field goal and gave up a touchdown. Against Florida, they gave up a touchdown to end the half. Obviously, Tennessee must make it a 60 minute fight. In order to do that, they must survive the eight minutes of football surrounding halftime.