There has been a feast or famine element to Tennessee’s defense all season, and Alabama is hoping to feast at the expense of the Volunteers inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Vols are entering their “Third Saturday in October” rivalry with the Crimson Tide leading the nation with 4.33 sacks per contest and having forced four fumbles — recovering three — during last weekend’s 34-31 outlasting of Arkansas in Neyland Stadium. Yet they are also surrendering 257.8 passing yards per game, which ranks last in the Southeastern Conference and 123rd nationally.
“Obviously we want to play elite,” Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez said Tuesday in a news conference. “Everybody does, but the bottom line is that you want to win games, so how can we do our part? We want to be efficient in all areas, including on first down to get offenses in long yardage and behind the sticks.
“Where we haven’t done a good job is on third down. We’ve got to be better, and we’ve got to be more consistent.”
Tennessee ranked sixth nationally in third-down defense last season, allowing a 30.3% success rate. This year’s Vols rank 70th in that category, allowing a 37.6% clip after Arkansas went 7-of-13.