Football vs. Tennessee Postgame Notes
10/19/2019 11:48:00 PM | Football
GAME CAPTAINS: Alabama's captains for tonight's game with Tennessee were redshirt juniors offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, tight end Miller Forristall, and junior defensive back Xavier McKinney.
FIRST TIME PLAYERS: True freshman placekicker/punter Ty Perine became the 22nd Crimson Tide student-athlete to make his first career appearance this season when he took the field in the third quarter against Tennessee. Perine joins freshman defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe who played for the first time at South Carolina on Sept. 14. The Crimson Tide had six student-athletes make their first career appearance vs. New Mexico State on Sept. 7, including four true freshmen in tight end Jahleel Billingsley, linebacker King Mwikuta and offensive linemen Pierce Quick and Tanner Bowles. A pair of redshirt freshmen also made their Crimson Tide debuts, including linebacker Jarez Parks and defensive lineman Christian Barmore. The group joined 14 true freshmen who made an appearance against Duke on Aug. 31, including: Marcus Banks (DB), Jordan Battle (DB), Scooby Carter (DB), Darrian Dalcourt (OL), DJ Dale (DL), Christian Harris (LB), DeMarcco Hellams (DB), Shane Lee (LB), John Metchie III (WR), Evan Neal (OL), Will Reichard (PK), Keilan Robinson (RB), Taulia Tagovailoa (QB) and Byron Young (DL). Redshirt junior Landon Dickerson (OL), redshirt freshmen Jalyn Armour-Davis (DB) and Tommy Brown (OL), along with redshirt sophomore Kendall Randolph (TE/OL) also saw their first playing time against the Blue Devils.
UNRANKED, NO PROBLEM UNDER SABAN: With its 35-13 win over Tennessee, Alabama has defeated 88 consecutive unranked teams under head coach Nick Saban, the longest streak in FBS history. The current streak began with a win over Colorado on December 30, 2007 in the Independence Bowl. The previous record was 72 games, shared by Miami (Fla.) (1984-95) and Florida (1989-2000). Under Saban, Alabama holds a 92-3 (.968) (88-3, .966 after vacations) mark against unranked opponents.
SABAN VS. FORMER ASSISTANTS: Alabama's matchup against Tennessee marked the 19th meeting and third this season between Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and one of his former assistants. Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt was a member of Alabama's staff under Saban from 2007-12 and 2016-17. Saban is 19-0 all-time against his former staffers during his tenure at Alabama. Saban has three wins vs. Derek Dooley (Tennessee, 2010-12), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State 2017, Texas A&M 2018-19), Jim McElwain (Colorado State, 2013; Florida 2015-16), and Will Muschamp (Florida, 2011and 2014; South Carolina, 2019). He has two wins over Mark Dantonio (Michigan State, 2010-15), Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee, 2018-19) and Kirby Smart (Georgia, 2018 CFP National Championship Game and SEC Championship) and one victory over Billy Napier (Louisiana, 2018).
NON-OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS IN THE SABAN ERA: Senior defensive back Trevon Diggs recovered a fumble for a 100-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, marking Alabama's 71st non-offensive touchdown of the Nick Saban era and third in 2019. The first of this season came on a blocked punt return by sophomore linebacker Ale Kaho against Ole Miss on Sept. 28. That was followed up by another blocked punt return, this time from redshirt sophomore wide receiver Tyrell Shavers in the Tide's win at Texas A&M on Oct.12. Alabama totaled seven non-offensive scores in 2018 and recorded a single-season record 15 in 2016, which led the Football Bowl Subdivision and was the most in a season by any FBS team in the last 20 years. Alabama scored a non-offensive touchdown in 10 consecutive games dating from to the CFP Semifinal vs. Michigan State on Dec. 31, 2015, to the Texas A&M game on Oct. 22, 2016, and had 14 non-offensive touchdowns in that span – four interceptions, four punt returns, five fumble recoveries and a kickoff return.
136-7 UNDER SABAN WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF: Under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide is 136-7 (.951) when leading at the half. Alabama has held the lead in 53 of its last 66 games dating back to the start of the 2015 season. Alabama is also 120-4 (.968) when leading by seven or more points at the break during the Saban era.
Defense
TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS: The Crimson Tide has forced at least one turnover in 61 of its last 66 contests dating back to the start of the 2015 season. During the current run, the Crimson Tide has forced 107 turnovers (70 interceptions, 37 fumbles) and returned 23 of those miscues for touchdowns.
HOLDING OPPONENTS UNDER 300: The Crimson Tide defense held Tennessee to 231 yards in Alabama's 35-13 victory on Oct. 19, marking the 109th time in 174 games (62.6 percent) under head coach Nick Saban that the Tide has held an opponent to less than 300 yards of total offense. The Tide has held 21 of its last 36 opponents below 300 yards, dating back to the start of the 2017 campaign.
Offense
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES: Alabama extended its school record for consecutive games with a score to 249 thanks junior running back Najee Harris' rushing touchdown in the first quarter against the Tennessee Volunteers. The Crimson Tide was last held off the scoreboard in a 9-0 loss to Auburn on Nov. 18, 2000. Alabama has a 195-53 (.786) record over the course of the current streak.
OPENING DRIVE TOUCHDOWNS: Junior running back Najee Harris' found the endzone on the opening possession against Tennessee. With that score, Alabama extended its streak to 32 straight wins when scoring a touchdown on its first offensive possession of a game. The Tide's last loss after finding the end zone on its first drive was to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
HARRIS ECLIPSES 100-YARD RUSHING MARK: Junior running back Najee Harris finished with 105 yards on the ground against Tennessee. Harris is the only Alabama rusher to go over the century mark this season. It is the fourth 100-plus yard performance of his career (Arkansas State on Sept. 8, 2018 – 135 yards; Southern Miss on Sept. 21, 2019 – 110 yards; Texas A&M on Oct. 12, 2019 – 114 yards; Tennessee on Oct. 17, 2019 – 105 yards).
Special Teams
PERINE'S PUNT PERFORMANCE: In his first career appearance, freshman punter Ty Perine averaged 46.5 yards after sending a pair for a combined 93 yards. He recorded a long of 51 on his second attempt and followed that up by making the tackle on the returner.
