Though Alabama is the more talented football team heading into Saturday night's game against visiting Tennessee, which is reflected by the five-touchdown point spread, the Volunteers are better behaved.
Tennessee will enter Bryant-Denny Stadium as the Southeastern Conference's cleanest team, having committed an average 5.0 penalties per game. The Crimson Tide are last in that category with 7.5 flags a contest.
"I think it's a lack of discipline, and I talk to our team about that all the time," Alabama coach Nick Saban said this week. "You can't do what you feel like doing. You've got to choose to do the right things, and you've got to do it that way all the time on and off the field."
In last Saturday's 47-28 win at Texas A&M, the top-ranked Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0) amassed 293 passing yards, 155 rushing yards and a whopping 311 yards on kickoff and punt returns. They also committed 11 penalties for 91 yards and produced a fourth quarter Saban would prefer never to experience again.
Those final 15 minutes included a substitution infraction, pass interference called on Jordan Battle during a 2-point conversion attempt and separate unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on receiver DeVonta Smith and right tackle Jedrick Wills. Smith was ejected after retaliating for a punch thrown by Aggies safety Leon O'Neal, so he must sit out the first half against the Vols (2-4, 1-2).
"Discipline is not something you just get on the field," Saban said. "You get it when you get up in the morning by making the right choices and decisions, and you carry it on the field that way. It's like with strength. You don't develop that on the field.
"You develop it in the weightroom, and then you carry it to the field."
Alabama's penalty average ranks 109th out of 130 FBS teams. The Tide are 101st in fewest penalty yards per game at 66.17, which ranks just ahead of Georgia (67.67) among SEC schools.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, a former Alabama defensive coordinator, said earlier this month that penalties continue to be a unique stat.
"When you look at the history of football, the teams that win the most are not the least penalized," Smart said. "A lot of times they're aggressive teams. You don't want to be last, either. It's always a fine line.
"There is probably holding on some kind of play everywhere that they either don't see or don't call, but you've got to be aggressive."
The Miami Hurricanes were notorious for racking up penalties and trophies during a nine-year run from 1983 to '91 that yielded four national championships. Their most notable display occurred in the Cotton Bowl after the 1990 season, when they committed 16 penalties for 202 yards and still blasted Texas 46-3.
Two of this season's top teams, Wisconsin and Oklahoma, have produced undefeated runs with different behavioral traits. The Badgers are among the nation's top-10 cleanest teams, averaging 39.83 penalty yards a game, while the Sooners are dead last with an 89.33-yard clip.
Saban hopes the Tide trend toward Wisconsin in the weeks ahead.
"It's something that we definitely need to do a better job of," he said.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.