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Alabama Favored by Two Touchdowns over Tennessee
10/24/09
Coach Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide finds itself #1 in the most recent AP Poll
after previous #1 Florida struggled against unranked Arkansas. One of the main
reasons why Alabama finds itself with that spot is their defense. This defense
has been nothing short of great this whole season.
Alabama is #2 in the SEC in scoring defense allowing just 12 points a game, and
#1 in the SEC in total defense giving up just 227 yards per game. Alabama is 7-0
on the year and have not really been tested. They have a date with revenge in
Atlanta in the SEC Championship with Florida, and it is going to take a team to
play their best game x2 to keep the Crimson Tide from making a return trip to
the SEC Title game.
Tennessee is a very difficult team to figure out. At times they look like a
solid SEC East contender, and sometimes they look like a team that’s just lost.
Lane Kiffin is in his first year as the Head Coach of the Volunteer’s, and his
team is coming off a dominating 45-19 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. Kiffin
would love for that game to be the one that turns this team around, and if it is
we could have a good ballgame this Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
PRIMETIME MATCHUP
QB Jonathan Crompton has looked pretty terrible for most this year, but he had
his first great game last week against Georgia. Against the Bulldogs he went
20-27 for 310 yards and 4 TD. If this Tennessee football team is going to have
any success this year it all depends on the play of their QB, but you can bet
Coach Nick Saban is thinking the exact same thing.
Saban is going to do whatever it takes to make Crompton’s night as miserable as
possible. This Alabama defense has not been kind to opposing QB’s. Against
arguably the best passing QB in the league Ryan Mallet, the Crimson Tide defense
held him to just 160 yards passing on just 1 TD.
Their best game was against Ole Miss where they gave QB Jevan Snead trouble all
day. Snead went 11/34 for 140 yards and 4 INT’s. Crompton is going to have
problems finding his rhythm much like the other QB have. The main thing he
cannot do is turn the ball over. He doesn’t need to try to win the game for his
team on his own with his arm he just needs to manage the game and not lose the
game for them.
If he can do this and RB Montario Hardesty can have success running the ball the
Volunteer’s can keep this game close. If Alabama’s defense puts Crompton into
bad situations and forces him to turn the ball over this game will be over
quickly.
THE FINAL VERDICT
It seems the only way to beat this Alabama team is to beat them at their own
game and play physical football, because passing teams have had no luck against
this Crimson Tide defense. The problem is Alabama is the most physical team in
the country, so we are not sure if anyone actually can beat them at their own
game.
We just don’t see Tennessee being able to make enough plays to win this
ballgame. The Alabama defense will be in the backfield all night and QB Jonathan
Crompton will be forced into bad situations, and from what we have seen usually
when that happens Crompton will put the ball up for grabs.
Once again this Crimson Tide defense will put their offense is good situations
with field position, and RB Mark Ingram, who has been on fire the past few
weeks, will have another big day against a battered and beaten Tennessee
defense.
It can be a scary proposition laying points with Bama. They can dominate a game in every way statistically yet when you look at the scoreboard, you see 17-7 or something along those lines. That being said, we're backing the Tide here as they are simply superior. Alabama -14.5
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