Berry play sets up lone TD

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The situation didn't discourage Eric Berry.

Rather, it encouraged him.

Tennessee's All-America safety was on the field, which meant his offense wasn't. And the Volunteers trailed top-ranked, archrival Alabama by two scores with less than four minutes left.

One first down would have iced the clock, so Berry didn't have much time.

Still, when UT assistant Lance Thompson looked at Berry and said, 'Go get me that ball," that's exactly what Berry did.

On Alabama's next play, Berry ripped the ball from Alabama star Mark Ingram -- which no one had done this season -- and recovered it near midfield.

UT scored the game's first touchdown moments later, and the Vols recovered an onside kick before driving back down the field for a potential winning field goal.

The kick was blocked, but Berry's coaches and teammates didn't forget his heroics in the immediate aftermath.

"Man ... it's Eric Berry," junior linebacker LaMarcus Thompson said. "That's what he does."

Berry vividly remembered Coach Thompson's words, even before the last-second specifics.

"Coach Thompson was like, 'This is your time. This is where we make big plays. You've been doing it all year,'" Berry said. "We just have that mentality that we always go and get the ball back -- no matter what the time is on the clock, no matter what quarter, no matter what time, no matter with anything. We have to go get the ball back, regardless of the situation. And that's what was on our minds, and that's what we went out there and did."

Head coach Lane Kiffin praised the defense that held the Crimson Tide to 256 yards -- 69 in the second half. Ingram finished with a respectable 99 yards on 18 carries, but a vast majority of his damage came as single-wing quarterback in the Wildcat package.

"Another great game defensively," Kiffin said. "They went to the wildcat after a couple of series there because our guys were playing so great in run defense. I thought we had a great plan. They were able to move the ball a little bit with the wildcat package, but when they went back and played normal offense, I thought our guys played great.

"You can't control the way that offense plays, or special teams. But if you're going to be a championship defense, and be the best defense in the country, it doesn't matter what the score is, and it doesn't matter what's going on. You go out there and you get the ball back, and you play extremely physical -- the way we did today."

Penalty problem

UT, which entered Saturday's game as the nation's second-lead penalized team, was whistled eight times Saturday for 68 yards -- compared to Alabama's one flag for 10 yards.

"To have eight enforced penalties -- and I think a couple of others that were declined, at critical times -- and I think they only have one penalty for the day, that was very shocking to me," Kiffin said.

Kiffin bit his tongue several times before offering a parting shot after this last question, when he was asked about UT's pass-blocking.

"I thought we (pass blocked well), except for the third down early where they jumped outside but weren't called for it," Kiffin said. "Outside of that, I thought our line did a really good job.

"I don't get fined for that one, do I?"

Big Brown, big loss

Kiffin lamented Saturday's loss for UT's seniors, especially Alabama native Wes Brown.

Brown has fought all through season through surgically repaired knees, and he was the topic of Kiffin's most emotional postgame moment.

"Wes kept getting banged up," Kiffin said. "I was so proud of Wes. You guys have no idea what he goes through just to get ready for a game.

"This game was really important to him. He told a touching story about his grandfather passing away when he was a freshman here. He came down here for the funeral, and one guy looked down at the casket and said, 'Roll, Tide.' That stuck with him for a long time. I really wish I could have gotten this win for him."

Kiffin complimented UT's other wounded warriors, specifically junior cornerback Chris Walker (lower back) and sophomore cornerback Art Evans (knee).

"Everybody tried to go out there and play," Kiffin said. "Art Evans maybe shouldn't have even played, but he went out there and battled."

Walker reiterated that his injury probably won't clear up until the offseason.

"The adrenaline of Tennessee-Alabama helped ... but there were definitely a few times where I felt it," Walker said. "And I feel it now."

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