Bama thumps Tennessee, takes next step toward SEC West title

TUSCALOOSA - There was no need for any last-minute heroics for Alabama this time - not on this third Saturday in October.

After squeaking past Houston and Ole Miss the past two weeks, Alabama struck early against No. 20 Tennessee and put the Volunteers away with a strong second half to earn a convincing 41-17 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The win allows Alabama to keep control of its own destiny in the race for the SEC West title.

Junior quarterback John Parker Wilson threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, while senior wide receiver D.J. Hall set a Tide record with 13 catches, two of which went for touchdowns.

"It felt so good to play a complete game," Wilson said. "It seems like all year we've been playing a good first quarter or a good third quarter, but we had not put four good quarters together. We talked a lot about that this week and we finally came out and put it all together."

Terry Grant added 104 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns for Alabama (6-2, 4-1 SEC), but the Tennessee defense clearly had no answer for Hall, who finished with 185 yards receiving.

"We clicked better offensively today than we have in the past," Hall said. "John Parker played one of the best games he's ever played. He was terrific all-around."

The win was a sweet one for the Tide players and for head coach Nick Saban, who was coaching in the series for the first time.

"I'm really pleased and happy for our players," Saban said. "I don't think I've seen them any happier than they were today. When you put everything into something like our players did this game and you go out there and play a complete game, it feels great for them. This is the first time we've played a complete game."

Alabama won the game by controlling the ball with its offense. The Crimson Tide ran 84 total offensive plays to just 57 for Tennessee (4-3, 2-2). Alabama held the ball for 37:38.

"We didn't think we would be able to run the ball on Tennessee all that much," Saban said. "That's why we threw a lot of short passes. We knew we had to control the ball and keep it away from their offense to win this game."

Leading 24-17 at halftime, Alabama got a big play from its defense early in the second half when Kareem Jackson intercepted an Erick Ainge pass and returned it 29 yards to the Tide 39. Wilson led the Tide on a drive that ended with a 20-yard field goal by Leigh Tiffin to make it 27-17.

Tiffin added a 42-yard field goal late in the third quarter to extend the margin to 30-17. After forcing another Tennessee punt, Alabama drove 82 yards in 10 plays with Grant taking a draw play for an 8-yard touchdown that pushed the margin to 38-17.

After being exploited by Tennessee in the first half, the Tide defense pitched a shutout in the second half, led by Jackson's two interceptions.

Alabama opened the game with an onside kick that was recovered by Demarcus Waldrop. That led to a 39-yard field goal by Tiffin for a 3-0 lead.Wilson later led the Tide 84 yards in nine plays and capped the drive when he rolled right and hit Grant for a 3-yard scoring play to put the Tide up 10-0.

Tennessee came back to take a 14-10 lead, but Wilson and Hall teamed up for touchdown passes of 16 and 2 yards to give Alabama a 24-14 lead.

A personal foul penalty on Alabama allowed Tennessee to kick a field goal on the final play of the half.

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.