Tennessee won two of the last three meetings with Alabama on the Third Saturday of October, but you have to go all the way back to 2003 to find the last time that the Volunteers downed the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Now, back in the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium after last season’s loss at Neyland Stadium, an SEC legend doesn’t suspect the Tide will have much issue dispatching their rival.
Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray predicted the Tide to beat the Vols by a touchdown on the Mac and Murray Show, and the SEC’s all-time leading passer has been impressed by what he’s seen from Alabama’s first-year starting QB.
“You’re playing a quarterback (Simpson) that is playing as good, if not better, than anyone else in the country,” Murray said on Wednesday. “He’s seeing the field extremely well. He’s maneuvering around the pocket well. He can run when he needs to. He’s accurate with the football. He’s got elite playmakers.”
Aaron Murray doesn’t see a way for Tennessee to slow down Ty Simpson
Murray elaborated on the way that Tennessee, or any defense, could theoretically slow down Simpson, Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, Isaiah Horton, and Lotzeir Brooks.
“Unless you have four dudes up front that can create pressure and be able to play coverage on the back end, you will not be able to stop this offense. You won’t. And you can’t. I don’t care what league you’re in — the NFL, college, high school — when you face a passing attack with a quarterback that’s playing at this level and receivers that are this talented, you will not be able to slow them down unless you can win with four up front,” Murray insisted.
“Tennessee does not have that. So I don’t care if Tim Banks wants to bring six. I don’t care if he wants to drop eight. I don’t care if he wants to bring engage eight and just have three guys back there. You will not be able to slow down this offensive passing attack. So the only way Tennessee has a chance in this game is to score a bunch of points.”
While Murray isn’t necessarily wrong in his assessment of the Tennessee defense, a unit that ranks 87th in the country in passing success rate, and is allowing a near 10 percent explosive pass rate, the Vols do lead the country in sacks per game at 4.2.
However, they have achieved that mark while blitzing on fewer than 30 percent of the opponents' dropbacks just once this season. Against Georgia, the Vols only loss, Tennessee blitzed on over 40 percent of Gunner Stockton’s dropbacks.
This season, against the blitz, Simpson is averaging 8.1 yards per attempt with six touchdowns to one interception. So, to Murray’s point, if they sell out to get after the QB, Simpson will burn them for it, and if you give him time, it’ll be even worse.