Tennessee Grades

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For 30 minutes in the first half it was a rivalry.

For 30 minutes in the second half it was a route.

The Alabama-Tennessee game is one of college footballs best traditional clashes. It has produced iconic moments: Paul Bryant playing on a broken leg. Terrence Cody blocking two fourth quarter field goal attempts. It has provided memorable quotes: Gen. Neyland, "You find out what a player is made of when they play Alabama." Paul Bryant, when asked what Alabama would have done if UT's potential game-winning field goal attempt in 1966 had been straight: "We'd have blocked it."

It was also the well-spring of a poisonous envy that produced a scandal which stains Alabama's otherwise glorious football history. The cast of characters in that squalid drama includes Logan Young, Albert Means, Philip Fulmer, Mike Dubose, Miles Brandt and Rick Johaningmeyer. But in a very real sense, the devastation of NCAA sanctions arising out of the Albert Means affair, created the conditions that ultimately led to the hiring of Nick Saban and a renaissance of the Alabama football program.

Saturday's game is a metaphor for the dramatic arc of the two programs. The first half was a testament to where Alabama and Tennessee used to be in relation to each other. The second half was a demonstration of where they really are.

In the first half, Tennessee played with intensity while Alabama appeared to be going through the motions. This disparity of focus had the score all square at 6 points apiece and UT's Tauren Poole in position to be the first running back to accumulate 100 yards rushing on the Tide defense since ... well since he did it in 2010.

In the second half, Alabama played with a ferocity to match its talent and the Vols didn't have a prayer. They also didn't have a first down. After intermission, UT ran only 19 offensive plays and had fewer punts [3] than turnovers [1 fumble, 1 interception, and 2 on downs]. While the Tide defense strangled UT's offense, the Alabama offense exploded for 31 unanswered points and with 10:00 to go, even the fans who bought a program were having trouble keeping up with who was playing.

The programatic gap between the Tide and Vols is wider than at any time in the history of the rivalry. By bringing about the Alabama Renaissance, Robert Witt and Mal Moore have earned places in the University's pantheon equal to George Denny and Wallace Wade. Meanwhile, up on Rocky Top, Fulmer and Mike Hamilton presided over an egregious period of neglect born of hubris. The proud Volunteer football program, which could do nothing wrong in the blinkered vision of the NCAA and SEC central office, was rotting from the inside. The arrogant decision to replace Fulmer with the callow Lane Kiffin exposed Tennessee football as being nothing but a hollow shell.

Alabama's rebirth has been mid-wifed by the coaching of Nick Saban. Derek Dooley is a Saban acolyte. Whether Dooley will be able to do for Tennessee football what his mentor has done for Alabama remains to be seen. But based on yesterday's performance, the Vols remain far behind the Tide. Dooley may eventually manage to close the gap, but it will be a long and difficult road.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: B+ The first half was, in a word, awful. The running game was not able to establish itself, and, the passing game was inconsistent. The offensive highlight of the first half was a 69 yard completion to Marquis Maze. Otherwise, AJ appeared a bit uncomfortable and out of sync, prompting the ESPN broadcast crew to opine that in the second half the coaches would take the ball out of AJ's hands and rely on Trent Richardson to get Bama's offense on track.

There's a reason why broadcasters broadcast and coaches coach. The Tide's first offensive possession of the third quarter generated 75 yards on four passes and a run by AJ that scored Bama's first touchdown against the Vols in Tuscaloosa in 7 quarters of play. AJ followed up with a 40 yard TD pass to Kenny Bell [officially it's listed as a 39 yard play, but the line of scrimmage was about 6 inches inside the UT 40 so I'm going with 40].

Alabama earned 19 first downs and generated 437 yards of total offense [143 rushing]. AJ completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for a career high 284 yards. On Bama's initial drive of the game, he threw his first interception in more than 150 pass attempts.

Trent Richardson gained 77 yards on 17 rush attempts and scored 2 TDs. Eddie Lacy added 46 yards on 7 running plays.

Marquis Maze had his second 100+ yard game of his receiving career, gaining 106 yards on 5 catches. Darius Hanks had 3 receptions [each one a circus catch] for 55 yards. Six different receivers caught passes.

The offense had 6 drives that gained at least 40 yards [72, 48, 75, 40*, 53, 46] that resulted in 3 TDs and 3 FGs. The Tide's final TD of the night came on a 9 yard drive following Dont'a Hightower's interception return.

Both of Alabama's first half scores were drives where the Tide did not finish after getting into the red zone.

Defense: A- Tennessee had only 6 first downs, all earned in the first half and was able to gain only 155 yards of total offense, 41 in the second half.

C. J. Mosley led the defense with 8 tackles [4 solo], but it was Lewisberg, Tennessee native, Dont'a Hightower, who deserves MVP status. Number 30 recorded 7 tackles [3 solo], 1 tackle for loss [a sack], broke up 2 passes, hurried UT's quarterback twice and made an interception that he returned for 29 yards to the UT 9 yard line.

Courtney Upshaw also recorded 7 tackles, Nico Johnson had 5 stops, and Will Lowery, Robert Lester and Mark Barron each had 4.

The defense as a whole recorded 4 tackles for loss, 6 breakups, and 2 forced fumbles [Upshaw, Chris Jordan].

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: A Jeremy Shelley was good from 26 and 29 while Cade Foster was good from 45. Shelley was perfect on 4 PATs.

Punting: B Alabama punted twice for an average of 35 net yards per punt. UT's punting did not present many return opportunities.

Kickoffs: B Cade Foster had a touchback! His gross average per kick was an acceptable 65.4, but the net was a mere 44.2. Marquis Maze had 29 yards in kick returns, with a long of 20.

Coaching: C+ The players were not emotionally ready to play. The larger responsibility for being emotionally ready is on the individual player, nevertheless, the coaching grade suffers for it. I was also not particularly impressed with play calling in the first quarter. For some reason, we seemed to run everything to the short side of the field in the first half, and with a first down at the UT 12 on our third possession of the game, we ran on first down for positive yardage and then elected to throw twice. But I give the coaches lots of credit for sticking with AJ in the second half; I hope John Chavis is scheming to force AJ to beat LSU in two weeks. That's a plan that will blow up in his face like a trick cigar. The participation report contains the names of 67 players who saw action against the Vols.

The college football landscape had some brush clearing on Saturday, as both Wisconsin and Oklahoma fell out of the ranks of the unbeaten. More pruning is inevitable as Oklahoma State has yet to play Kansas State. Will Stanford get past Oregon? Can Clemson run the table in its conference? Who knows, and who cares? For Alabama fans there is only one game that counts, and that's the next one. It just so happens that this time, the next one is November 5. After that, it will be November 12, and so on, as the 2011 Tide pursues its destiny.

It tells you something about the decline of the Tennessee program, that the 2011 Third Saturday in October proved to be a "trap" game because of the looming showdown with LSU. Although LSU whipped Auburn in embarrassing fashion, I believe that Alabama is the better team. I would not trade AJ right now in a package deal for both Jefferson and Lee. In fact, I wouldn't swap a single player on our team for one of theirs.

The crowd at Tiger Stadium was chanting "We want Bama" as the game clock ran out yesterday. In two weeks time they are going to get Bama. With Halloween being an official holiday in Louisiana, the traveling freak show that is the LSU fan base will start rolling into Tuscaloosa starting on All Saints Day. Lock your doors at night. When you encounter the guys in purple zoot suits with tiger-striped lapels and the cat-woman with stiletto heels and Mardi Gras beads, try not to make eye contact. If you act like they are invisible, they will go away sooner.

Alabama won't start off slow against LSU. The Tide will bring its "A" game, and I expect that The Grades will reflect it.

The Commissioner