Nearly a month of the college football season has already passed, providing a somewhat clearer picture of the landscape.
Week 4 in the SEC brought a number of marquee conference matchups, some of which involved teams remaining on Tennessee’s schedule.
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Alabama hosted Ole Miss, Texas A&M played Auburn in its SEC opener and South Carolina looked to bounce back against Mississippi State at home.
Here is what we learned about the Vols’ upcoming league opponents.
Statement win for Alabama defense
There were some serious questions about Alabama after its sluggish win over USF a week ago and while Saturday’s performance didn’t necessarily provide every answer, it did make a statement.
After not playing last week, Jalen Milroe solidified his spot as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback in a 24-10 win over Ole Miss. He wasn't perfect, but the offense is clearly better when he's playing. He finished 17-of-21 passing for 225 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
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Milroe's 33-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Hale as he took a hit blew game open in the third quarter.
Defensively, Alabama (3-1, 1-0 SEC) was suffocating. Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1) accounted for less than 60 rushing yards, limiting running back Quinshon Judkins to 56 yards on 13 carries while quarterback Jaxson Dart was 20-of-35 passing for 244 yards and an interception.
Dart was sacked five times and the Crimson Tide totaled 10 tackles for loss. Linebacker Dallas Turner had two sacks with 3.5 TFL.
Alabama has a week off before playing at Texas A&M on Oct. 7.
Weigman injury overshadows Texas A&M win over Auburn
Texas A&M passed its first test since losing to Miami two weeks ago but it came at cost.
Quarterback Conner Weigman left the game late in the second quarter after taking a hit and backup Max Johnson took over the rest of the way, passing for 123 yards and two touchdowns to lift the Aggies past Auburn, 27-10.
Though the severity of Weigman's injury isn't known yet, Johnson proved himself as a more than capable replacement should Jimbo Fisher have to turn to him in the coming weeks.
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The Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0) defense, which has been a liability at times, was dominant, holding Auburn (3-1, 0-1) to 56 passing yards between three quarterbacks and tallied seven total sacks and 15 TFL.
The Aggies face a gauntlet over the next month, starting with Arkansas next week and including Alabama and Tennessee in Knoxville on Oct. 14.
Another strong performance for Rattler ahead of showdown with Vols
Spencer Rattler continues to impress.
The South Carolina quarterback was 18-of-20 passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns as the Gamecocks outlasted Mississippi State, 37-30.
Rattler is up to 1,242 passing yards and seven touchdowns through four games, which ranks third among league quarterbacks.
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The most glaring issue for South Carolina (2-2, 1-1) was its defense. Mississippi State (2-2, 0-2) managed more than 500 yards of offense behind 487 passing yards from quarterback Will Rogers.
South Carolina will play at Tennessee next week in a game that has been anticipated since the Gamecocks knocked the Vols out of College Football Playoff contention a year ago.
Kickoff at Neyland Stadium set for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
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