BAMA’s 12TH In ROW
saban makes history
KNOXVILLE — With his team comfortably up 42-14 at halftime over Tennessee inside Neyland Stadium, Alabama football coach Nick Saban headed into the visiting tunnel and encountered a cup of ice thrown from above.
“The ice doesn’t bother me at all,” Saban said. “I’d rather have somebody upset when we’re playing on the road than happy about the circumstances.”
The circumstances Saturday were similar to most Alabama-Tennessee games since Saban took over the Crimson Tide. The latest result, a 58-21 bludgeoning in which No. 1 Alabama racked up 545 yards and limited the Volunteers to 258, was the Tide’s 12th consecutive win in the tradition-rich series.
Saban is the first coach to defeat Tennessee on 12 consecutive occasions. Alabama defeated the Vols 11 straight times under Paul “Bear” Bryant from 1971 to 1981, and Florida registered 11 in a row over Tennessee with three different head coaches from 2005 to 2015.
“It’s special for all the people in Alabama who probably had a hard time going to sleep last night worrying about this game,” Saban said. “My self-gratification comes from me knowing that we made all those people really happy and all those guys in that locker room are really happy. To see them have a spirit about them
that’s really, really positive and how they feel good about what they did today really makes me feel good.”
Alabama began its current mastery of the Vols with a 41-17 thumping inside Bryant-Denny Stadium during Saban’s debut year in 2007. By tallying 58 points Saturday, the Crimson Tide registered the highest point total against Tennessee in Knoxville since Sewanee rolled to a 68-0 win 100 years ago.
Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns in just more than a half of action, while the Alabama defense held Tennessee’s running game to 31 yards on 30 carries.
“It’s a really big tradition for everybody,” Alabama redshirt sophomore nose guard Quinnen Williams said. “Everybody will ask you your record against Tennessee and Auburn and how many national championships you won. When we play Tennessee, it’s a big tradition.”
Said sophomore receiver Henry Ruggs: “We’re just continuing the tradition. Coach Saban has a very positive record against Tennessee, and that was the first thing he said this week — he wanted to keep it that way.”
Alabama led Tennessee 21-0 midway through the first quarter on the strength of a 77-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle and a Xavier McKinney sack of Jarrett Guarantano that resulted in a fumble that outside linebacker Christian Miller recovered at the Tennessee 3.
Tagovailoa’s throw to Waddle was one of the finest of his stellar season, with Waddle running a deep crossing route and getting behind cornerback Bryce Thompson and safety Nigel Warrior.
“That was a shot play,” Tagovailoa said. “When Waddle came across, their safety poached kind of too far over, and it left Waddle open. That play was more for Jerry Jeudy, but Waddle was open, and we ended up hitting him for the touchdown.”
Tagovailoa’s final pass was a 41-yard scoring strike to Ruggs that made it 51-14 barely two minutes into the third quarter, but he continued to give Tide fans a scare by getting up slowly after a hit to an already ailing knee.
“I don’t just lay on the ground to lay on the ground,” he said. “I feel something, and I just want to make sure I’m good before I end up getting up and going to the sideline. My knee is a lot better than it was last week.”
The Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) can rest all of their ailments this week with an open date before their Nov. 3 showdown at LSU.
Alabama has won seven straight against LSU, so Tigers fans also have become quite familiar with what Tennessee supporters continue to endure under a Saban reign that can’t be stopped by a simple cup of ice.
“I’m really proud of our players and the way we played in this game,” Saban said. “This is always a tough game, and it’s a tough time of the year having played eight games in a row. I thought they responded really well and that we controlled the game in the second half.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.