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    • It doesn’t take long for Tennessee football to storm the field for beating Alabama
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    It doesn’t take long for Tennessee football to storm the field for beating Alabama

    Vaseline Posted on

    KNOXVILLE – Soon, and it’s fast approaching, SEC football fans will no longer storm the field when their team beats Alabama.

    But it’s not there yet, in Tennessee.

    Smoke billowed across the field on Saturday night as a wide cross-section of VFLs – recruits, college seniors, college seniors – climbed from the stands to the field with phones in their hands and cigars between their lips. Eager to make the moment their own, they threatened goalposts and reveled in Tennessee Football’s 24-17 victory over Alabama, which, if we’re honest, didn’t deserve such exuberance.

    Because this Crimson Tide isn’t That Crimson flood. The monster built by Nick Saban has clearly been weakened in his absence, a revelation that has brought much joy to our state as of late. When they took down the goalposts at Vanderbilt and paraded them down Broadway after beating the top-ranked Tide, it made sense.

    But when the goalposts fell (again) at Neyland Stadium in Tennessee, you had to wonder:

    Why?

    When it comes to this series, the dominance is over. Tennessee has earned the right to act as if it had been there before against its bitter rival. Two years ago, when the Vols won 52-49 and ended the drought with Saban on the sidelines, it was an instant classic and an emotional release after years of frustration. For Big Orange Nation, such an experience bordered on the spiritual.

    But this Saturday?

    It was an entertaining game, but not a particularly well-played game. It was a stabilizing victory during what had been a volatile few weeks for the 10th-ranked Vols.

    But it wasn’t a shocking, accidental upset. Wasn’t even a little surprising.

    Tennessee, like Vanderbilt, was simply better than seventh-ranked Alabama. The Vols, despite another brutally slow offensive start, proved to be mentally stronger, physically stronger, better conditioned, better coached and better prepared to perform in the important moments than the Tide.

    Saturday was more of an example of the Tide’s decline under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer than a confirmation of the Vols’ 2024 title hopes under Josh Heupel. This Tennessee team remains a work in progress. There are still many wrinkles to be ironed out – especially on the attacking side of the football – before it is fit for a play-off run.

    “Good teams get better,” Heupel said. “This team has to keep getting better.”

    As ugly as this performance was for much of the time — and indeed, “It wasn’t very early,” Heupel said — this was a necessary outcome to keep the Vols’ playoff hopes intact. Of the five games that Tennessee (6-1) has coming up after the open week, the toughest by far comes on Nov. 16 at Georgia. The next toughest? It could be at Vanderbilt on November 30th. The other three are in Knoxville.

    Warts and all, these Vols are in prime position to finish at least 10-2.

    And a 10-2 record could put them in the playoffs.

    And when they make the playoffs, what do they always say? Defense wins championships?

    No one is going to want to play against Tennessee because of its defense. A strange turn for Heupel this season given his offensive qualities, as his offense is holding Tennessee back.

    “These guys are our backbone, and we’ll continue to lean on them,” quarterback Nico Iamaleava said of UT’s defense. “We have to perform better (offensively) and not get on their heels so often.”

    Iamaleava wasn’t good all the time against Alabama, but he was good enough late to beat his counterpart, Jalen Milroe, and make some big throws to help the Vols score on four of their last six full possessions after they had gone scoreless in the first half (with three turnovers).

    In fairness to Milroe, who also missed too many open receivers, Iamaleava didn’t have to face Tennessee’s defensive front. The Vols ran for 214 yards. The tide? 75.

    Tennessee’s defense finished with nine tackles for loss, and Alabama’s offense went three-and-out five times.

    This is the muscular way Alabama won all these years. Saban’s teams were better at the scrimmage than most teams, but they were especially good at dealing with Tennessee.

    That is no longer the case. The tide is receding. The Vols flex and light them.

    And whether the Vols actually rise or simply beat a beatable opponent, we’ll have to wait and see.

    Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

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