EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, we grade Tennessee’s performance as it relates to General Neyland’s famous seven maxims of football. Welcome to the Rocky Top Report Card.
By SCOTT FELTS
For the third straight time at Neyland Stadium, The Third Saturday in October ended with a Tennessee win. The Vols’ 26-10 victory was more than a victory; it was an actual physical domination of the visiting Crimson Tide.
Let’s see how the Vols stacked up against General Neyland’s Seven Maxims.
Maxim 1: The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. (Grade: A)
Alabama coughed up four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) and tacked on 10 penalties for 68 yards. Tennessee’s damage: one fumble lost by George MacIntyre and one pick. The Vols also went 6 of 15 on third down to Bama’s 2-for-13 performance When both teams are sloppy, the less sloppy one leaves with the win, and that was unmistakably the Big Orange.
Maxim 2: Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way… SCORE. (Grade: C)
Here’s the one blemish. Tennessee forced four Alabama turnovers and scored zero points directly off them. Alabama, meanwhile, cashed in on Ivan Taylor’s interception with Keelon Russell’s 19-yard touchdown run. The Vols did answer the fourth-and-1 stop at their own 40 with DeSean Bishop’s 5-yard plunge, and Kayin Lee’s end-zone pick in the final minutes was a statement dagger. But the “when one comes your way, score” part of the maxim went missing on a night when the defense kept handing the offense the ball.
Maxim 3: If at first the game or the breaks go against you, don’t let up…put on more steam. (Grade: A)
Not many breaks went against the Vols. However, leading only 12-10 at the half, the Vols did put on the steam in the second half.
They stuffed Bama on fourth-and-1 to open the third quarter, then marched 60 yards for Bishop’s first touchdown. In the fourth, they answered a three-and-out with the longest scoring drive by time of possession of the Josh Heupel era: a 9:32 march that took 15 plays and covered 72 yards. It ended with Bishop punching it in from the 5-yard-line. The Vols scored 14 unanswered points after intermission, and shut out the Tide in the final two quarters. That’s not just surviving. That’s more steam, and lots of it.
Maxim 4: Protect our kickers, our QB, our lead and our ball game. (Grade: A)
MacIntyre dropped back 31 times and was sacked once, for 4 yards. Russell got hit five times and lost 37 yards. Cooper Ranvier was perfect on four field goals from 29, 33, 41, and 34 yards. Josh Turbyville boomed seven kickoffs for a 65 yard average with six touchbacks. The Vols lead wire to wire. Everything this maxim asks for, the Vols delivered.
Maxim 5: Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle…for this is the WINNING EDGE. (Grade: A)
The defense was a wrecking ball:
- Five sacks for 35 yards.
- 10 tackles for loss.
- Four turnovers forced.
- Alabama managed only 54 rushing yards good for its sixth-fewest this century and 201 yards of total offense.
- The second half was the first time Alabama has been held scoreless in a half all season.
Amare Campbell paced everyone with eight stops including two for loss. Jeremiah Telander had two sacks and a forced fumble. Tyree Weathersby added two more sacks and recovered a fumble. Arion Carter chipped in a sack of his own. Dejuan Lane and Kayin Lee each picked off Russell.
This is what the fifth maxim looks and sounds like when it’s alive on the field.
Maxim 6: Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made. (Grade: A)
Ranvier’s 4-for-4 afternoon set the tone, but the whole operation hummed. Turbyville’s six touchbacks meant Alabama started drives at its own 25 almost every time. Jackson Ross pinned two punts inside the 20 on four attempts.
Bama’s Alex Asparuhov managed one punt downed inside the 20 all game across six punts. Field position was a fistfight that Tennessee won before the first snap of most Alabama drives even began.
Maxim 7: Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there for 60 minutes. (Grade: A)
The Vols had the ball for 35:44, and gained 20 first downs. Alabama had 12 first downs and its average starting field position in the second half was its own 19. The Vols struck first, led after the first quarter, and simply refused to let the Tide off the mat.
Overall: A-
The Vols dominated the lines of scrimmage, controlled the clock, and held the offense of the sixth-ranked team in the nation in check. The only thing preventing a clean A was leaving four takeaways on the table. Fix that, and this “Tennessee Saturday Night” is a perfect night.