A healthier Tennessee team ventures into Tuscaloosa Saturday for only the ninth time in this storied rivalry. The Vols record there stands at 4-4. Bryant Denny Stadium with its 92,000 + capacity will no doubt be overflowing.
Alabama will be facing their toughest defensive opponent to date. If your wondering, Virginia Tech is ranked 35th in total defense, Tennessee 13th. The Vols on the other hand have already faced the number two statistical defense in Florida and now take on the number one defense in the land.
No one in Orange will be looking for a ‘moral victory’. Tennessee can win this game just as assuredly as the Florida game or any other game on the schedule. The question becomes, will they put all the pieces together for a complete sixty minutes and walk out with a win?
Winning Saturday for Lane Kiffin’s Vols will be a formidable task. The accompanying graph shows how statistically sound the Red Elephants are. One of the biggest ‘tusk’ in this task, once again, is winning the turnover battle.
Alabama showed how giving South Carolina 4 turnovers in three quarters is a recipe for a scare at the very least. Their defense made the plays when they had to and did its part in containing the turnover margin to -2.
This game will hinge on turnovers and special teams. If both teams play it close to the vest and make few mistakes, it will be close and low(er) scoring. If Tennessee plays sound and wins these two phases of the game, they can pull the upset. If not it could get ugly as physical as Alabama is.
One of the more interesting performances that will be watched is Jonathan Crompton’s. Jonathan ‘rallied round the family with a pocket full of’ completions and good decisions in his last outing. Collectively, the Vol Nation would love to see something akin to the Georgia game. A related point of interest will be Lane Kiffin’s play calling to help JC find a rhythm.
On the Crimson Tide side of things, they have some areas of concern. Their red zone offense has not been touchdown friendly (out of 37 red zone drive they have 31 scores, BUT 15 have been FG’s). Their kickoff coverage is suspect too (ranking 102nd in the nation).
Every week is a great time to take one to the house. But In some ways a runback on the road does more for the team than one at home. It can be the spark that ignites a special Saturday. David Oku, Nu’Keese Richardson, Dennis Rogan, do you thing guys.
I want to take this opportunity to remind all Vol fans about how much this game still means regardless of the divisional split.
WARNING: This is disturbing and should be looked upon with disdain. Neyland Stadium, October 25, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKTr-lhIn0
A friend told me once that the only good red elephant is a dead red elephant. Then again he loathed Alabama football. The hunt is on however, and the Vols are looking for that one shot, that turns a formidable tusk into a prized, big game win.