Heupel Breaks Down Tennessee’s Dominant Win Over Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After Tennessee’s 26-10 victory over Alabama on the Third Saturday in October, Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel addressed the media, praising defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and running back DeSean Bishop while breaking down his offense’s critical fourth-quarter drive that sealed the victory.

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Heupel opened his press conference by commending Knowles, whose defense dominated Alabama both on the ground and through the air. The Volunteers limited the Crimson Tide to just 201 total yards, including 54 rushing yards, as Alabama averaged just two yards per carry and managed only one touchdown.

Tennessee’s defense finished with ten tackles for loss, five sacks, two fumbles, and two interceptions. The Volunteers also stopped Alabama on a fourth-and-one attempt near midfield to open the second half, setting up Tennessee's first touchdown drive of the game.

Knowles' unit held Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell to 147 passing yards and intercepted him twice. Russell accounted for the Crimson Tide’s lone touchdown on a 19-yard run in the second quarter.

“They love him; he’s a guy, tough, demanding, but they love him, and they believe in him. He cuts up and has some fun with them too,” Heupel said.

“He’s got a great way of connecting with people, and I’ve seen that from really the very beginning; he’s got his own way of doing it. Elite, I mean elite job by him tonight.”

Tennessee also controlled the game offensively, putting together several long, methodical drives and winning the time-of-possession battle, 35:44 to Alabama’s 24:16.

The Volunteers had six scoring drives, four of which lasted more than four-and-a-half minutes, keeping Alabama's defense on the field and limiting opportunities for the Crimson Tide's offense.

Tennessee's most significant possession came in the fourth quarter, when the Volunteers put together a 15-play, 72-yard drive that drained 9:32 off the clock. The possession ended with a five-yard rushing touchdown from Bishop, extending Tennessee's lead to 26-10 with 3:17 remaining.

“Run game situationally, us playing smart and finding a way to, the right way to try to go win a football game. Operating out of the huddle offensively, there's a lot of pieces to it, certainly,” Heupel said.

“You look at the way we were able to go finish the football game with, I don’t know how many plays it was, a lot of big plays in the run game. A couple of key conversions throwing the football too.”

Heupel emphasized Tennessee's physicality and execution throughout the contest, especially during the Volunteers' game-sealing possession.

“Really proud of the effort of, we’re talking about offense right now, so offense finishing that way, but we talked about this being a line-of-scrimmage game, boxing-match mentality, and have to win it with physicality for four quarters, and I thought we did that.”

Heupel also praised Bishop, whose performance helped Tennessee establish its dominance on the ground. The senior running back finished with 159 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, averaging nearly five yards per attempt.

Bishop scored both touchdowns on five-yard runs in the second half, helping Tennessee pull away after entering halftime with a narrow 12-10 lead.

“He’s a special back, smart, tough, physical, finishes runs, runs through trash, you know, a dirty two- or three-yard gain, he’s pushing for five,” Heupel said.

“Changes the game, situational football. He’s got great vision; when he bounces it, it’s typically the right time to bounce it. He has an understanding of run schemes and structurally what he’s seeing and really good vision, so he’s special.”

The victory marked Tennessee's third straight home win over Alabama, with the Volunteers using a dominant defense and a physical rushing attack to secure the 16-point win.

Tennessee will look to extend its winning streak when it travels to Columbia to face South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:30 p.m. CT.

Micah Nichols covers Alabama baseball, football and basketball for Tide 100.9. Follow him for the latest Crimson Tide coverage.