Tennessee’s offense executed perfectly and its defense frustrated Alabama at times in a 52-49 victory.
Self-inflicted mistakes hurt the Crimson Tide, but did something put it behind the 8-ball before kickoff? Nick Saban and Alabama’s outside linebacker Will Anderson spoke about anxiety on Monday. During his radio show last week, Saban said the players had ‘energy’ and ‘enthusiasm’ in practice. He said the team was secure in the game plan and prepared to win.
Alabama had a good week of practice, but something felt off as the team was not ready for the challenge.
Previous teams in the Saban era wanted all the smoke.