Tennessee football kept its College Football Playoff hopes on steady ground and more importantly got back on the winning side of the Third Saturday in October by knocking off the Crimson Tide 24-17 on Saturday afternoon. The game was much the same as in Tennessee’s recent matchups with the offense struggling early and its defense doing just enough to keep them in striking distance.
Here’s a look at the Tennessee football stock report following its win over Alabama.
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Stock Up
Coach Game Planning
Both Josh Heupel and Tim Banks had a great plan of attack in this one. The Vols’ offense had receivers running open throughout the game and moved the ball down the field throughout the game.
Heupel schemed things up well and while Tennessee struggled to connect on some shots, it felt like they would have scored near 40 points if they executed at a high level.
Then on the other side, Tim Banks and Tennessee’s defense had a great plan for facing Alabama’s daunted offense. The Vols took away Milroe’s legs and anything deep down the field instead presenting opportunities for Alabama’s passing attack in the intermediate. That’s where Jalen Milroe is more shaky and the Alabama quarterback failed to hit those passes and make Tennessee pay for its game plan.
Offensive Line Play
Tennessee’s offensive line certainly was not great in this game. But they were better against the Crimson Tide than they’ve been in any other SEC game leading up to it.
Iamaleava was sacked three times though one was at the end of the first half. Tennessee’s offensive line held just once and gave Iamaleava cleaner pockets than he’s had at any point in SEC play. The Vols also found their footing on the ground in the second half and finished the game with 214 rushing yards.
The Vols’ offensive line wasn’t perfect by any means but they were much better than they’ve been. That allowed the offense to sustain more drives. And when mistakes hurt drives, it wasn’t mistakes from the offensive line.
Secondary Standouts
Jermod McCoy has been the star of Tennessee’s secondary this season but Will Brooks has also sneakily played at a very high level and graded out very well.
Both of those players stepped up and played at a very high level against Alabama. McCoy had a game changing interception and allowed just five catches for 45 yards on 11 targets. Brooks recorded eight tackles including a shoestring one that saved a long Jalen Milroe touchdown. Then he had the game sealing interception put the game away.
The pair stepped up in a big way against Alabama.
Stock Holding
Run Defense
Tennessee’s run defense has been the strength of its defense to this point in the season. That didn’t change against Alabama.
The Vols held the Crimson Tide to just 75 rushing yards with a long of 11 yards. Tennessee shut down star rushing quarterback Jalen Milroe, holding him to only 11 rushing yards on 14 carries. Alabama’s two running backs, Jamarion Miller and Justice Haynes combined for just 64 yards on 20 carries.
The competition got harder but Tennessee’s defense keeps stepping up.
Offensive Execution
While Tennessee had a great offensive game plan that had receivers running wide open down the field throughout the game, the Vols were unable to connect on them.
The offensive execution was lacking in the first half with bad mistakes in the red zone and even in the second half, Tennessee failed to make plays that were there.
Offensive execution has been an issue for Tennessee the last month of the season. That continued to be the case against Alabama.
Stock Down
Miles Kitselman
The Alabama transfer has played more snaps than any Tennessee tight end this season. And after the NC State game, Kitselman has slightly been trending down for a while.
But the Alabama game was his worst of the season to date. He failed to block on the play Dylan Sampson fumbled on in the first half. It might have even been a touchdown if he was.
Then in the second half, he lined up on the line of scrimmage when he was supposed to be off, taking a first down away for Tennessee’s offense. All while not catching any passes. It was a bad game for Kitselman.
Max Gilbert
Max Gilbert’s stock isn’t free falling following the win against Alabama, but it was his worst game of the season. He missed field goals from 54 and 50 yards which were more misses than he’s had all season.
But Gilbert also hit a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Gilbert looked like an elite kicker at early parts of the season. I still think he’s a good one but that stock is down from the very high expectation level.
