TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama closed out Saturday night's 52-24 win over Tennessee by reeling off 21 consecutive points, and the final stats reflected that 28-point spread.
The Crimson Tide had 33 first downs to just 10 by the Volunteers, and Alabama won the yardage battle by a decisive 574-346 mark and consumed 40 minutes and 26 seconds of possession time. If there was an upper hand for the Vols, it transpired on special teams.
"Our special teams played really well tonight," Vols coach Josh Heupel said. "I like the effort and the strain that they played with. They competed really hard, and they went out and executed our game plan."
Tennessee not only had a solid night from senior punter Paxton Brooks, who averaged 44.3 yards on seven attempts, but blocked an Alabama punt early in the third quarter. Freshman defensive back De'Shawn Rucker raced in to get the block, which set up Chase McGrath's 32-yard field goal that pulled the Vols within 21-17.
"It was something that we saw, and Coach (Mike) Ekeler and his staff did a good job of scheming it up," Heupel said. "Ruck did a great job of running out and executing it, but it's not just him but the guys around him doing the right thing at the right time, too."
Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn't nearly as thrilled with how football's third phase transpired, with his Crimson Tide flagged for roughing the punter during the first quarter. Two plays after Alabama was penalized, Hendon Hooker connected with JaVonta Payton for a 57-yard touchdown that provided the Vols their lone lead of the night at 14-7.
"We roughed the punter on fourth-and-30," Saban said. "We really shot ourselves in the foot at times tonight."
AP photo by Vasha Hunt / Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (9) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against Tennessee during the second half of Saturday night's game. Officials ruled it a touchdown after a replay review to see whether Young lost control of the ball before crossing the goal line.Get a ruling
Quarterback Bryce Young had a 6-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that put Alabama up 31-17, but he appeared to have lost control of the ball before the goal line.
The play was reviewed, with the score upheld.
"On the scramble that turned into a touchdown for them, I was initially talking to the side judge, and he said that the box didn't have a view for it to be overturned and that he had basically crossed the goal line based on the footage that they had," Heupel said. "I continued to communicate with him and told him I was close to burning a timeout, and they ended up reviewing it up top.
"They decided it was a touchdown even though our guy ended up with the football coming out of the pile."
Odds and ends
With their 15th consecutive loss to Alabama, the Vols now trail 59-38-7 in the series. ... Redshirt junior linebacker Jeremy Banks racked up 15 tackles but drew another personal-foul penalty, while fifth-year senior defensive tackle Matthew Butler added nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Tide tidbits
Alabama extended its NCAA record of consecutive games with 30 or more points to 34. ... The Tide converted 15 of 20 third-down opportunities while holding the Vols to a 2-for-13 clip. ... Tight ends Cameron Latu and Jahleel Billingsley were shaken up after first-quarter receptions, with each returning later in that quarter.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.