Alabama didn’t just lose to Tennessee on Saturday night. By Greg McElroy’s read, the Crimson Tide got shoved around at the point of attack and never found a way to answer.
The ESPN analyst, who was on the ABC call from Neyland Stadium, summed up the 26-10 finish on his Always College Football podcast with a line that left little room for interpretation: “Alabama gets bullied in Neyland. Bullied.”
That physical edge showed up everywhere. Alabama finished with only 201 total yards, went 2-for-13 on third down and coughed it up four times.
The first half was especially rough, with the Tide mustering just 93 yards before the break. Even after Keelon Russell’s 19-yard touchdown run trimmed the gap to 9-7 and Alabama went into halftime down only 12-10, McElroy said the game still felt firmly in Tennessee’s hands.
“Bama’s defense battled. I mean, they held Tennessee to multiple field goals there in the first quarter when the offense couldn’t really get out of their way.
And you’ve got to give tremendous credit to Tennessee for forcing those turnovers. They’re up 9-0 in the blink of an eye.”
Alabama’s defense did enough early to keep the score from getting away, but the offense never settled in. Russell finished with 147 passing yards, threw two interceptions and Alabama lost two fumbles. McElroy pointed to the quarterback and the line when breaking down where things went sideways.
“His legs were a factor, but he made too many mistakes. He held the ball a little too long.
Jeremiah Telander strip-sacked him there in the first quarter. The offensive line got pushed around.”
Russell later took responsibility, saying it was “a lack of a plan” on his part.
Tennessee, meanwhile, leaned into the run and kept leaning. DeSean Bishop carried 32 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns, with 95 of those yards coming after halftime. The Volunteers finished with a 150-54 edge on the ground, and McElroy was quick to single out Bishop’s style.
“DeSean Bishop does what DeSean Bishop does. The guy is a physical freight train.
That’s what he is. He just runs through contact as well as anybody in the entire country.”
The biggest sequence came in the third quarter, when Tennessee stuffed Alabama on fourth-and-1 at the Vols’ 40-yard line and turned that stop into a touchdown drive. Bishop later finished off a fourth-quarter march that ate 9 minutes, 32 seconds off the clock and ended with his 5-yard touchdown run.
“It was so impressive to watch Tennessee run the football, control the line of scrimmage and be the more physical football team,” McElroy said.
The loss gave Alabama consecutive regular-season defeats for the first time since 2007, coming a week after a setback against then-No. 1 Georgia.
The Tide are now 5-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play. They also played without receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, a team captain who was sidelined by several injuries, including a concussion.
Kalen DeBoer pointed to the same issue McElroy highlighted, saying “the key was they were able to run the football.”
Tennessee fans rushed the field after the win, setting up a $500,000 SEC fine payable to Alabama. Alabama’s next chance to stop the skid comes Saturday, Oct. 24, when it hosts Texas A&M.
McElroy put the challenge in plain terms: “So, very rare situation for Alabama with their back against the wall. Got to punch their way out of it.”
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Tennessee's Celebration Just Added Another Twist To This Alabama Rivalry
Tennessees latest win over Alabama already carried the usual rivalry weight, and now it has come with an SEC penalty attached. The league fined the Volunteers $500,000 after fans rushed the field following the victory, a scene that has become familiar in college football but still runs afoul of conference policy when it crosses the line into the competition area.
For Alabama, the detail that stands out is where that money is headed. The fine will be paid to the Crimson Tide, while Tennessee does have a path to argue for a reduction if it can show it took steps to prevent the breach or that contact was minimal. The SEC also leaves room for schools to stage on-field celebrations, but only if they submit procedures in advance and get them approved, which gives this rivalry another layer of paperwork to go with the emotion. [Read more 🡒]
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The encouraging part for Alabama is that the group is being handled on a week-to-week basis, with some players expected back at practice soon. Still, until those bodies return and the Tide can see how quickly they regain rhythm, the conversation around the program is going to be about depth, availability and whether the roster can stabilize fast enough to keep the loss from turning into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
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The encouraging part is that Hurts is clinically stable and expected to make a full recovery, but the timeline makes clear this is not a short-term issue. He is projected to miss about three months, leaving Alabama without one of its most important players for an extended stretch while the team waits for his health to normalize before football becomes a realistic possibility again. [Read more 🡒]