All the goodwill from Alabama's competitive loss to Georgia last week was ripped away in 60 minutes of embarrassment in Knoxville against Tennessee. Last week's loss was frustrating, but easily explained away against an elite team and some highly questionable officiating.
This week, there were no excuses. Alabama played horrendously from the opening snap and got the result it deserved against Tennessee.
These types of losses have become all too familiar under Kalen DeBoer, and now the margin for error that the Crimson Tide worked so hard to build with a 5-0 start is completely gone.
Here are the most frustrating observations from the loss:
1. Alabama has no offensive identity once again under Ryan Grubb
Alabama's offensive identity is the same this year as it was last year. Which is to say, outside of begging the QB, whether that was Ty Simpson in 2025 or Keelon Russell in 2026, to save them, that's all Ryan Grubb has in the bag.
Alabama can be a physical team, but they don't commit to it. In a difficult road environment with a young QB, establishing the run early would make sense to most coaches. Alabama didn't bother with a traditional run play until the third series of the game after back-to-back three-and-outs.
DeBoer made a couple of hires this offseason that appeared to put Grubb on the clock as the Tide's OC and play-caller. After this weekend's pitiful performance in Knoxville, it's tough to see a way forward without moving on from Grubb.
Execution wasn't good enough, and the players deserve some fault in that. But at the end of the day, it's up to Grubb and his coaching staff to put his guys in a position to succeed. He failed miserably on Saturday.
2. Keelon Russell still has a long ways to go to reach his ceiling
You see the flashes of brilliance with Russell. He'll make eye-opening plays on a nearly weekly basis, but the growing pains are still pretty obvious. He's too loose with the football, a fact that proved really costly against Tennessee. He turned it over three times, including a fumble on the opening possession for the second straight week.
He wasn't seeing the field well, and while a lot of blame should go on the staff for not putting him in better spots and making the game easier on him, he'd also be the first to tell you that he's got to play better.
"I had a horrible game. I put it all on myself. I couldn’t even lead my team down the field," Russell said in the aftermath," via Brett Greenberg.
3. Alabama's injuries have started to take a real toll
It's not an excuse, but it is a reality: Alabama is a super banged-up football team, and that got even worse in Knoxville. Last week's loss to Georgia extracted a heavy toll, with three players being lost to injuries that cost them this week's game against Tennessee: Ryan Coleman-Williams, Racin Delgatty, and Terrance Green.
Alabama suffered two more costly injuries in the first half against the Vols. Star CB Zabien Brown and freshman stud RB EJ Crowell were both knocked out of the game in the second quarter and didn't return.
Alabama will be limping into next week's game against Texas A&M, which had a real difficult home game this week against The Citadel, desperately needing a win heading into the bye week to make November meaningful.
4. Kane Wommack's scheme deserves to be questioned
It's hard to put too much of this loss on the defense, considering the offense managed just 149 yards of offense until the final drive when they were down 16 points, but there remain some serious issues with Wommack's scheme that made life difficult, especially in the second half.
While the defense deserves credit for standing strong despite the offense putting them in difficult positions in the first half, the dam broke a bit in the second half with the Vols scoring touchdowns on two of their three second-half possessions.
DeSean Bishop once again torched the Tide, rushing for 159 yards in the game. Alabama frequently played soft boxes that allowed Bishop to find creases. More frustratingly, Alabama continued to play soft coverage instead of pressing, giving George MacIntyre easy completions despite Tennessee's hesitation to ever take shots down the field.
DeBoer is going to have to seriously evaluate whether either coordinator is fit to continue on for a fourth season, particularly if this season ends with a second missed playoff berth in three years.
5. Alabama has zero margin for error with five games left
Alabama earned road wins over both Kentucky and Mississippi State within the first five weeks to build out a 5-0 record and begin this difficult four-game stretch with a margin for error. With Texas A&M and LSU still to go, along with a road trip to Vanderbilt and an Auburn team at home that just took down Georgia in Athens, the Crimson Tide has removed any margin for error it had in just two short weeks.
Two straight losses knocked Alabama to 5-2 on the season. A sure spot in the College Football Playoff would take five straight wins from here. One more loss and the Crimson Tide would take their fate out of their own hands.
This being a sort of rebuilding year isn't a huge surprise given how young this team is. But it's hard not to be disappointed with the effort today and the fact that they've lost two straight after such a promising start.
Add us as a preferred source on Google