No. 11 Alabama bludgeoned No. 17 Tennessee in the second half for a 34-20 win.
The Vols led 20-7 at halftime after Joe Milton hit McCallan Castles for a TD with 12 seconds to go in the second quarter. At that point, it was fair to worry about Alabama’s chances of missing the College Football Playoff, its chances of winning the SEC West and the possibility that the Crimson Tide could lose back-to-back games to Tennessee for the first time since 2003 and 2004.
Those thoughts disappeared pretty quickly after halftime. Alabama got the game back within one score less than a minute into the third quarter on Jalen Milroe’s 46-yard TD pass to Isaiah Bond. That throw was a sign of things to come for the Volunteers.
Alabama outscored Tennessee 17-0 in the third quarter as it took a 24-20 lead on a 5-yard run by McClellan after Tennessee decided to go for it on 4th and 1 inside its own territory. A run up the middle out of the shotgun was foiled quickly by the Alabama defense, and McClellan got the go-ahead score less than three minutes later.
It was the second time Tennessee had gone for it on fourth down inside its own territory. In the first half, the Vols ran Milton out of the shotgun when they needed less than a yard but Milton got stopped short. But Alabama failed to capitalize on that turnover on downs when Milroe was picked off in the end zone.
The Crimson Tide ended up scoring 27 consecutive points in the second half as they added to the lead in the fourth quarter. The lead got to 14 when Milton was sacked by Chris Braswell and Jihaad Campbell returned Milton’s fumble for a TD.
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
