l said before the season started that l felt like it would be hard for us to win all 5 of our road games. l was afraid we wouldn't get thru that ganulet.

We got to take them one at a time, but l think we can make it to Atlanta. Would love to play Tenn. again. l think we run them out the end of the stadium on a neutral field. Never seen a team get as many penalaties at crictical game changing times. As far as Georgia we will see what happens.

l think we are going to see a big improvement in this team, but we got to start out by winning this week.

ROLL TIDE and lets get to Atlanta and then see what happens.

Login to view embedded media
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Following Alabama’s 52-49 loss to Tennessee on Saturday, Nick Saban spoke to the media, stating his team has “a lot of work to be done” to respond from its first defeat of the season. Here’s a transcript of what the head coach had to say as well as my take on what it means.

Opening statement

“I’ll kind of tell you what I told the team. Very disappointing loss. We didn’t answer the bell today. Obviously, there’s a lot of work to be done. Way too many penalties, did too many things to help them, gave up explosive plays, had a major error on special teams that was totally unnecessary that led to a score on their part. You’ve gotta give them a lot of credit. They did a nice job with their offense based on what we were trying to do on defense.

“But we didn’t execute well enough. You’ve gotta give our players a lot of credit for fighting back, getting back in the game after getting behind 21-7 and having an opportunity to win at the end. I wish we could do some things a little different in the end, play a little better. Played way too soft at the end to let them go down the field 50 yards and get in field goal range. I think that the big thing that our players need to do is learn from this experience, have more respect for playing with discipline so we don’t get penalties, we don’t help the other team, we don’t make mental errors that help the other team.

“But I also told the players that we can accomplish every goal that we’ve had starting at the beginning of the season. There’s no room for error in the West. If we win out in the West, we can win the West and still have a chance go to the SEC Championship Game. But I think the key to the drill is you’ve gotta learn from these experiences. You’ve gotta learn from mistakes that you made. You never improve if you can’t learn from the mistakes that you made. And obviously, we have a lot of work to do. I hope everybody is all in on trying to do that work so we can improve and play better.

“I thought Bryce played really well in the game, made a lot of plays offensively. Just didn’t get going on defense when we had the chance. On the last drive when they tied the game, got a third-down penalty, got a fourth-down penalty that led to their score to tie the game. And had an opportunity, needed to get a little closer for the field goal kick, and we didn’t get that done.”

Tony’s take: This time, Alabama had to pay for its mistakes. The Crimson Tide has had double-digit penalties in each of its three road games this season. It was able to survive sloppy play against Texas (15 penalties for 100 yards) and Arkansas (10 penalties for 101 yards). However, a school-worst 17 penalties for 130 yards was just too much to overcome. If Alabama wants to save its season, it will need to start learning from these mistakes. Perhaps this is finally the wake-up call it needed.

Saban seems rightfully annoyed at Alabama’s defensive effort, even going as far as to call it “soft” on the games final drive. Whether that’s a message to defensive coordinator Pete Golding, his players, or both, it’s worth noting.

On Alabama’s strategy on its final drive

“We were trying to move closer. We thought that they were blitzing and had a loaded box a lot and thought we could make plays with the passing game. Jahmyr had a chance to make a play. That’s the best things we did all night, so that’s how we thought we could get closer. When I say that, I don’t mean we should have ran it instead of pass it. I didn’t mean that at all. They were blitzing and we were in empty, so we’ve gotta throw the ball hot, and we didn’t do it exactly right.”

Tony’s take: During its final possession, Alabama drove the ball down to the Tennessee 32-yard line before attempting three straight incomplete passes to set up Will Reichard’s 50-yard missed field goal. Tennessee had much more success stopping Alabama on the ground than it did through the air, so Saban was hoping his offense could connect on one more big play to set up an easier score. In the end, that’s likely all it would have taken to pull out the win.

On Tennessee’s tempo

“I don’t think the no-huddle offense was the issue for us. I think it was covering their receivers and allowing way too many big plays. They created a lot of mismatches. We were trying to play nickel, so they were trying to get their best receivers on the safeties, and they hit a couple times and we gave up big plays. We started dropping eight guys, that helped us in the second quarter. We did the same thing in the third quarter and played some dime so we’d have some better matchups against them. So we made some good adjustments in the game, but we just gave up too many big plays. Even in the second half, they scored on big plays.”

Tony’s take: Tennessee’s fast-paced offense limited Alabama’s ability to rush the passer and allowed the Volunteers to create the mismatches they wanted throughout the game. However, in the end, it came down to execution. Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt flat-out beat Alabama’s defensive backs, hauling in six receptions for 207 yards and five touchdowns. The only thing slowing him down for most of the game was the length of the field.

On what he wants to see changed to achieve consistency

“I think you can’t have consistency unless you have discipline and execution, and I mentioned that earlier. So it’s not just penalties. It’s just did I block the right guy? Did I do it the right way? Did I cover the right guy? Did I cover the right way? Did I rush the passer the right way? Did we run the stunts, stop the run, stay in my gap? All those things are little things that you have to pay attention to detail on so that you play together as a unit. And we’ll watch the film but obviously, when you give up (52) points, there’s things we need to do much, much better on defense, and we need to be able to take advantage of the situation we had on offense at the end of the game – although the offense did a really good job of moving the ball, keeping the ball and scoring points.”

Tony’s take: This comes back to Saban’s message in the opening statement. Eventually, Alabama is going to have to start learning from its mistakes. If it does, this game could end up being the wake-up call Alabama needed to take the next step in its pursuit of a national title. If it doesn’t the Crimson Tide might not be playing in a meaningful game after November.

On Tennessee's crowd noise

“I thought the offense handled the crowd noise extremely well. We were able to go on the clap, and the motion penalties that we had, a couple of them had nothing to do – a guy with no clap, no nothing. I don’t know why. But I thought we handled the noise extremely well in the game. They had a great crowd, the crowd did a great job in the game and we changed the momentum in the game several times. We just weren’t able to take advantage of it by getting enough stops on defense.”

Tony’s take: Crowd noise really only plays a part when the visiting team has the ball. Alabama piled up 569 yards of offense and 49 points, so it really wasn’t too much of an issue other than providing an adrenaline boost to the Volunteers.

On the pass-interference call that negated Kool-Aid McKinstry’s interception

“I can’t really comment on it. It’s hard to see when it’s down in the corner. I thought the guy made a good swat on the ball and we intercepted a tipped ball. And we had another one on 3rd and 6, the guy had coverage on the guy. I think pass interference is one of the most controversial calls in college football right now, and I’ve talked about it before but just inconsistency in how it gets called. Not just on those calls but on all calls. Officials do the best they can. I’m not making any negative comments about what they called.”

Tony’s take: Looking back at this call, it’s a really tough break for Alabama. I’m not usually one to criticize the referee’s as I think they generally do a way better job than fans give them credit for. However, this looks like a missed call. Unfortunately for Alabama, it was a costly one, too. Had McKinstry’s interception stood, the Crimson Tide would have likely at least gone up by 10 points with less than three minutes to play.

On Bryce Young

“I had total trust and confidence that he had practiced enough that he wasn’t gonna forget how to play quarterback. And he didn’t. So even though he wasn’t able to practice, especially throwing the ball as much in the passing game, getting him healthy so he could go out there and throw it effectively was probably the most important thing. I think the way our medical staff managed that gave him the best opportunity to do it, and obviously came through and played really well today.”

Tony’s take: Bryce Young had one of his best games in an Alabama uniform, coming back from injury to complete 35 of 52 passes for 455 yards and two touchdowns. Had the Crimson Tide helped him out a bit more, this could have been his Heisman moment. On the plus side, his shoulder looks fine moving forward, and Alabama still has everything to play for this season.

he Rotary Lombardi Award®, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Houston, is pleased to announce the 90 players who will compete for this year’s coveted award. The Rotary Lombardi Award® goes annually to the college football offensive or defensive lineman, who in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame Head Coach Vince Lombardi.

This year’s watch list is filled with talent from a multitude of schools and conferences, which should make for an exciting voting process. To be considered for the Rotary Lombardi Award®, players must be a NCAA FBS College Football team member and meet the following qualifications:

• Be a down Lineman, end to end, either on offense or defense, setting up no further than ten (10) yards to the left or right of the ball at the time of the snap.
• Be a Linebacker on defense, setting up no further than five (5) yards deep from the line of scrimmage.
• Must not come out of the offensive backfield and set up on the line of scrimmage as a Blocker or a Receiver or listed in the program as an Offensive Back or Receiver.
• Be eligible to participate in the current season.

The 2022 Rotary Lombardi Award® watchlist is compiled by a subcommittee of the Rotary Lombardi Award® committee and included SID submissions. On the preliminary watch list, players were selected based on their past performance and expectations for the upcoming 2022 college football season. The updated list includes additional players whose play on the field at the halfway point in the season has merited their inclusion. Also, some players were removed from the initial list due to injury.

Arranged by conference and then alphabetically by player last name.

ACC (8)
Bryan Bresee, Clemson, Rs So DT
Caleb Chandler, Louisville, Rs Sr G
SirVocea Dennis, Pittsburgh, Sr LB
Cory Durden, North Carolina State, Rs Sr DT/DE
Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh, Rs Jr DT
Jordan McFadden, Clemson, Rs Sr OT
Myles Murphy, Clemson, Jr DE
Trenton Simpson, Clemson, Jr LB

American (4)
Dwayne Boyles, USF, Sr LB
Elijah Chatman, SMU, Sr DT
Patrick Paul, Houston, So OT
Lorenz Metz, Cincinnati, Sr OG

Big 12 (14)
Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State, Jr DE
Cooper Beebe, Kansas State, Jr OL
Trevor Downing, Iowa State, Rs Sr C
Jaylan Ford, University of Texas, Jr LB
Zach Frazier, West Virginia, So C
Connor Galvin, Baylor, Sr OT
Siaki Ika, Baylor, Jr DT
Brock Martin, Oklahoma State, S-Sr DE
Will McDonald IV, Iowa State, Rs Sr DE
Wyatt Milum, West Virginia, So OT
Chris Murray, Oklahoma, Rs Sr OG
DeMarvion Overshown, University of Texas, S-Sr LB
Dante Stills, West Virginia, S-Sr DL
Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech, Sr OLB

Big Ten (15)
Jack Campbell, Iowa, Sr LB
Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State, Rs So LB
Zach Harrison, Ohio State, Sr DE
Ryan Hayes, Michigan, Rs Sr OT
Nick Herbig, Wisconsin, Jr OLB
Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State, Jr OT
Dawand Jones, Ohio State, Sr OT
Sam LaPorta, Iowa, Sr TE
PJ Mustipher, Penn State, S-Sr DT
Jer'Zhan Newton, Illinois, So DT
Olu Oluwatimi, Michigan, S-Sr C
Alex Palczewski, Illinois, S-Sr OT
John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota, S-Sr C
Peter Skoronski, Northwestern, Jr OT
Jacob Slade, Michigan State, Rs Sr DT

C-USA (7)
Praise Amaewhule, UTEP, Rs, Jr DE
Abraham Beauplan, Marshall, Sr LB
KD Davis, North Texas, Sr LB
Jordan Ferguson, Middle Tennessee, Rs Sr DE
Tyler Grubbs, Louisiana Tech, So LB
Ahofitu Maka, UTSA, Sr C
Jadrian Taylor, UTEP, Sr DE

Independents (8)
Jayson Ademilola, Notre Dame, S-Sr DL
Clark Barrington, BYU, Jr LG
Andre Carter II, Army, Jr OLB
Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame, Sr DE
Blake Freeland, BYU, Jr LT
Michael Mayer, Notre Dame, Jr TE
Chris Ojoh, New Mexico State, Sr LB
Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame, S-Sr OL

Mid-American (2)
Darren Anders, Bowling Green, Sr ILB
Jamal Hines, Toledo, Sr OLB

Mountain West (3)
Viliami "Junior" Fehoko, San Jose State, Jr DE
Caden McDonald, San Diego State, Sr LB
David Perales, Fresno State, Sr DE

Pac-12 (8)
Braeden Daniels, Utah, Jr OT
Brandon Dorlus, Oregon, Jr DE
Alex Forsyth, Oregon, Sr C
Jaxson Kirkland, Washington, Sr OT
Noah Sewell, Oregon, So LB
Ron Stone Jr., Washington State, Rs Jr Edge
Tuli Tuipulotu, USC, Jr DT
Andrew Vorhees, USC, Rs Sr OG

SEC (15)
Will Anderson Jr., Alabama, Jr OLB
Brock Bowers, Georgia, So TE
Nick Broeker, Ole Miss, Sr OG
Jalen Carter, Georgia, Jr DL
Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M, Rs So LB
Brenton Cox Jr., Florida, Rs. Jr DE
Ali Gaye, LSU, Rs Sr DE
Derick Hall, Auburn, Sr Edge
Broderick Jones, Georgia, Rs So OT
Bumper Pool, Arkansas, Rs Sr LB
Layden Robinson, Texas A&M, Sr OG
Nolan Smith, Georgia, Sr LB
Henry To'oTo'o, Alabama, Sr ILB
O'Cyrus Torrence, Florida, Jr OL
Darnell Wright, Tennessee, Sr OT

Sun Belt (6)
Kivon Bennett, Arkansas State, Rs Sr LB
Cooper Hodges, Appalachian State, Rs Jr OT
Willie Lampkin, Coastal Carolina, Jr C
Carlton Martial, Troy, Sr LB
Javon Solomon, Troy, So LB
Josaiah Stewart, Coastal Carolina, So Bandit


The voting process will follow this schedule.

• October 24 - 31, 2022: Vote to determine Semi-finalists
• November 2, 2022: Semi-finalists announcement
• November 4 – 14, 2022: Vote to determine Four Finalists
• November 17, 2022: Four Finalists announcement
• November 18 – December 5, 2022: Final vote to determine winner
• December 7, 2022: Rotary Lombardi Award® Winner announced

I guess I was living in a make believe world because not in my wildest dreams would I have believed Tennessee could score that much against our defense. Pittsburg did a better job.........Florida did a better job.........LSU did a better job. ........

Overrated all freaking year. The secondary has no freaking clue what they are doing. Straight butter.

Love him in run support. Hell put him at LB and maybe he can cover a RB or TE but we have to have a better option at safety. Especially with this type of offense. We need someone who can cover not so much run support with UT.

Most undisciplined team in the Saban era. Time to bring in some more coaches who can teach technique and developed. We need to dump a lot of position coaches this year.

Gage updates his overall recruiting as he lines up visits with Bama, USC, and Ohio State.

Miss State and Ole Miss.
Our D needs help. 31 was a non factor.

A look at how the top players from the 2022 class are playing early in their freshman seasons:

Comes out shortly. I am hearing we are number 20.

He needs to be playing his press coverage can help this defense for this game.

Alabama's 2023 and 2024 recruits were back in action this week. Here is how they fared in their respective games.

checking in with dink pate in texas today. he is going to be a good one.

Alabama falls to No. 6 in the coaches poll and AP Top 25 after Saturday's loss to Tennessee.

If we win the NC it is due to last night's loss. The team now realizes we are not invincible, it is us against the world and the coaches are right attention to detail and focus matters. Plenty of time to recover but if the players aren't going to listen to the coaches, it won't Matter.

Our ladies scored the last two goals in one of our best soccer victories! Great job so far Ladies!
ROLL TIDE ROLL!

1- I thought Bryce played great while getting hit hard the entire game. IMO he played winning football.
2- Gibbs was really good as well. He too played winning football IMO.
3- We are committing way too many penalties on both sides of the ball but so did Tennessee but most of theirs did not get called.
4- The refs clearly influenced the outcome of this game. The pass interference call against Malachi Moore at the end of the game was a horrible call IMO.
The Vol receiver turned right into Malachi’s chest and he went up for the ball with both hands and on the way down Malachi slapped it out of the receivers
hands and we intercepted it running it back nearly for a TD. It was a great play by Malachi IMO that should have sealed the game away for us.
5- The Tenn receiver that scored all those TDs is a great player no doubt. But we can’t continue to let a safety try and guard him. We were definitely exposed severely on the backend.
6- Maybe it was just me but I didn’t hear Will Anderson’s name called hardly any at all. The Tenn o-line did a pretty good job on our d-line
7- Overall, the penalties, drops, defensive mental mistakes, and poor defensive calls by Golding we have to clean up if we want to win out. That’s a big if! I can see that receiver for Tenn
scoring a couple of tds on us but not 5. Cannot cover that guy with a safety. The only db that I thought played OK was Kool-Aid. We have an abundance of stuff to clean up for sure.
One more note - Bryce Young is one tough hombre!! He took one to the back of his head, to the front of his head, ( no penalty on either ) numerous hard hits to his body but he popped up
from every hit. Considering the circumstances, I thought he had a Heisman performance!!

November 5, 2022. This will be a clash of the titans type game. I don’t think UGA will be able to keep pace with the Vols and Stetson Bennett is not the QB that Bryce Young is. It will be a brawl as it is played in Athens but TN is having a Cinderella season. They have the offensive game to tear the Bulldogs up. UT’s defense is good enough to limit Georgia (cannot win In a track meet)

The Tide must win out and take the West. A rematch in the SECCG would be a tremendous game and Saban has been money in re-match games. His LSU team lost to the 2001 Vols in the regular season but was able to spoil Fulmer’s best shot at a 2nd BCS Championship.

The SEC Champion will be in the playoff.

As Too’To said following the game we will see them again. I think on a neutral field I’ll take the Tide every time.

The season is still in front of this team. Will they respond? Will this loss be the wake up call this team and staff have needed all along? All they need to do is finish the season strong and they will have an opportunity for redemption and a chance to prove that they are a GREAT team on into the playoffs.

Not a sunshine pumper. This scenario all depends on the character of this team and how they respond. Id like to think there is enough pride they will turn it around. As Coach Bryant used to say “It’s gut- check time!”

I love Pete Golding,love the defense. However the mismatch with our safety’s were insane tonight. I’m lost for words and don’t know who’s the blame!

Tennessee basically ran the same formation and each time Hyatt was wide open.

Minus 21 1/2 against MSU? I think we will spring back with a well played game and cover the line.