Tennessee Grades

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It was the best of times,
It was the worst of times,
It was the age of wisdom,
It was the age of foolishness,
It was the epoch of belief,
It was the epoch of incredulity,
It was the season of national championships,
It was the season of champions of life.
There was the greatest coach in college football history at the Capstone,
There was a deranged, purple-faced clown on Rocky Top.

With apologies to Charles Dickens, I think my version is a bit more relevant to the current situation.

On a beautiful third Saturday in October, the Alabama Crimson Tide dominated an incredibly overwhelmed squad of Tennessee Volunteers.  Bama outgained the hill-folk by almost 500 yards.  They hit UT's redshirt freshman quarterback on what seemed like every play.  Even the Tide's own mistakes, of which there were many, did little more than keep the game from being a shut out.  Tennessee head coach Lyle Jones is almost certainly a dead man walking.  Heck, by the time you read this he might already be unemployed.  Jones owns the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd largest defeats in the continuous history of the Bama-Tennessee series.

It was the 100th meeting between Alabama and Tennessee.  Having won the most and second-most conference championships, these are the two most storied and successful programs in SEC history.  I'm not sure they've ever been farther apart.

Here's how I graded the game:


OFFENSE  -  A-

The Tide amassed 604 yards of offense (332 passing, 272 rushing).  Jalen Hurts was 13-of-21 for 198 and a touchdown, while Tua Tagovailoa was 9-of-12 for 134 and another TD.  Tua's lone interception that was returned for Tennessee's only points (and their only touchdown in over 14 quarters of play), contributed to the slight grade reduction, as did some odd playcalling from Brian Daboll (shocking, I know).

Damien Harris was, once again, the Tide's leading rusher with 72 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.  Josh Jacobs and Najee Harris both had solid games, running for 47 and 50 yards, respectively.  Tua added a rushing touchdown on a nifty run that left a Tennessee DB searching for his self-respect.  Bo Scarbrough had a rough outing, averaging only 2 yards on 9 carries, though he did have 2 touchdowns, both on fourth down.

Calvin Ridley led the way with 8 catches for 82 yards, including several that moved the chains.  Irv Smith caught a touchdown, and would have had another had he not fumbled through the endzone.  Fortunately, his fumble was negated by a UT penalty (more on that later).  Henry Ruggs III maintained his trend of only catching touchdowns by pulling in a nice pass from Tua, and then turning on the jets for a 60 yard score.


DEFENSE  -  A+

The Bama defense was fantastic.  They held the Volunteer offense to 108 total yards and no points.  They were much, much more physical.  They won the trenches on just about every snap, of which Tennessee only ran 46.  Alabama had 4 sacks, led by Levi Wallace with 2, 8 QB hurries, and 9 tackles for loss.  Rashaan Evans was all over the field, notching 6 tackles (4 solo), a sack and 2 TFLs.

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who was making his first road start, was harassed all day.  A more mobile QB than the guy he replaced, Guarantano attempted to scramble and take off, and time after time he was levelled.  In a coaching decision that effectively summarizes his entire tenure, Jones opted to let the final seconds of the first half tick down until only 2 were left before calling a timeout and attempting a hail mary.  Guarantano was forced out of the pocket, and was creamed by two Tide defenders.  Tennessee must have an ordained priest on their sideline, because I'm convinced I saw Guarantano's soul briefly leave his body; he might have preferred to continue on toward the light rather than face what the second half would bring.  To the kid's credit, he kept standing in there and taking shots.  He certainly deserved a long ice bath.

Perhaps the best moment for the Tide defense came after Tennessee was gifted the ball in the redzone by a fumbled punt.  The Vols made it to the one foot line before moving backward.  On 4th and goal, Mack Wilson intercepted the pass, and the Vols' humiliation was complete.


SPECIAL TEAMS  -

PLACE KICKING  -  A

Pappanastos was a perfect 6/6 on PATs and notched a 25 yard field goal.  JK Scott booted most of his kickoffs for touchbacks.  The only reason this doesn't get the + was because UT got one decent return that was helped by a procedure penalty.


PUNTING  -  F

I can't speak for the Commissioner, but I refuse to award any passing grade as long as the Tide continues to drop punt returns.  Scott kicked twice with a long of 50 and one punt dropped inside the 20.


COACHING  -  D-

This may seem harsh.  Shoot, maybe it is.  As I already mentioned, Daboll temporarily maintained his mantra "If it ain't broke, break it."  But all-in-all, it wasn't a bad outing.  The defensive staff did a stellar job of preparation and on-field coaching.  A solid gameplan is the only reason this grade is barely passing.

It is inconceivable to me that Bama can't find anyone that can consistently field a punt.  We have 9 muffed or fumbled punts on the season.  We have 5 fumbled or muffed punts in the past 2 GAMES!  And 3 different players contributed to those numbers!  How is this possible?!?!  This area of our team is so bad it's pathetic.  Until this gets fixed, the coaching grade simply cannot be any higher.


OFFICIATING  -  If there were a 27th letter in the English alphabet, it would be that.

The Correspondent from the Tire Store will, I'm sure, delve into this a bit more.  Let me just say this: Marc Curles' crew might be the worst in the generally putrid ranks of SEC officials.

Just a few highlights:
- A block in the back wherein the blocker hit the defender in the gut
- Incorrectly assessing a personal foul on a play that featured a turnover  (The SEC's head off officials gave an explanation for this that made absolutely no sense)
- Repeating 3rd down following a defensive holding call rather than awarding an automatic first

It boggles the mind.


Whether this week, next week, or by season's end, Lyle Jones is going to lose his job.  He deserves it.  His team plays with no discipline.  His playcalling is predictable and moronic.  He cares more about how he is portrayed in the media than he is about doing the one thing that makes coaches effectively immune from criticism: winning.

I don't know that I've ever seen a display of overt classlessness like what UT defensive back Rashaan Gaulden pulled.  Immediately following a 97 yard pick six by Daniel Bituli, Gaulden flipped a double-barrelled bird toward the Alabama student section.  He was appropriately assessed a 15 yard penalty on the subsequent kickoff, though it would have been justifiable if he'd been ejected.  This kid decided that, in spite of the fact that his team was down 28-6, and in spite of the fact that he wasn't even the one that made the play, he was going to make the situation all about himself in the most crass way possible.  Because Lyle Jones has no control over his team, Gaulden didn't miss a snap.  To Gaulden's credit, he issued what seemed to be a sincere apology after the game.  Still, his actions are an embarrassment to his team, and an indictment of his coach.

UT has lost 11 straight games to Alabama, which ties the mark for the longest streak in series history (1971-1981).  Nick Saban has been the head man at Alabama during all 11 wins, while the streak has eaten up 4 different Tennessee coaches.  It is all but certain that number 12 will come against a fifth.

The Commissioner will be back in two weeks for Bama's most important game of the season.  Thanks for indulging me in his absence.  Roll Tide.

The Commissioner's Son & Heir