KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 2 Alabama football team moved to 5-0 on the season with a 48-17 win at Tennessee Saturday afternoon in Neyland Stadium. The win extended several streaks for the Crimson Tide, including 14-straight victories against the Volunteers, 29-consecutive wins against Southeastern Conference East Division opponents and 94 straight against unranked opponents.
The victory also gave UA head coach Nick Saban his fourth of the season over a former assistant coach, moving him to 23-0 against his protégés during his time as Alabama’s head coach.
With its 48 points against the Vols, Alabama has now tallied 35-or-more points in each of its last 18 games, the longest streak in major college football history. Najee Harris led the scoring onslaught with three rushing touchdowns to go with a game-best 96 yards on the ground as well as 61-receiving yards.
Mac Jones set an Alabama record with 19-consecutive completions after closing last week’s Georgia game with eight straight and starting Saturday’s contest with 11 in a row. On the day, Jones was 25-of-31 for 387 through the air, adding a one-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter. John Metchie III caught seven passes for a game-best 151 yards, including a long of 45 yards.
Christian Harris led the Crimson Tide defense with 10 tackles while Malachi Moore notched his third turnover in his first five games Saturday, forcing a fumble and scooping it up for a 28-yard touchdown to start the second half.
How It Happened
FIRST QUARTER
- 07:40 – UA | Alabama began the day’s scoring with Harris’ one-yard rush into the end zone. The six-play, 2:50 drive covered 70 yards and gave UA a 7-0 advantage.
- 02:54 – UA | Jones crossed the plane for a one-yard run to complete a seven-play, 76-yard drive that consumed 3:35 of game action.
SECOND QUARTER
- 12:11 – UT | A 13-play drive by the Volunteers ended with a Brent Cimaglia field goal to get Tennessee its first points of the afternoon.
- 08:12 – UA | Alabama added to its lead when Brian Robinson Jr. carried up the middle for a seven-yard touchdown. The rushing score was Alabama’s third of the day.
- 06:13 – UT | Jarrett Guarantano found Jaylin Hyatt on a 38-yard pass for the Vols’ first touchdown of the day. Tennessee was able to drive 75 yards in 1:59 to make it a 21-10 game.
- 04:04 UA | The Crimson Tide answered just over two minutes later as Harris took the ball to the left side, crossing the goal line completely untouched for his second score of the day. The highlight of the drive came on a 45-yard pass from Jones to Metchie that saw him pull down the pass between two Vol defenders to set up Harris’ two-year plunge into the endzone.
THIRD QUARTER
- 14:27 – UA | Moore forced and recovered a fumble on UT’s opening drive of the second half. The freshman then took the turnover 28 yards for the score.
- 04:19 – UA | Harris recorded his third rushing touchdown of the day, taking it in from the one to make it a 42-10 affair.
- 02:52 – UT | Guarantano found Josh Palmer in the corner of the end zone for a 27-yard pitch-and-catch to close out the quarter’s scoring.
FOURTH QUARTER
- 14:54 – UA | Will Reichard hit from 39 yards out to add three to the Crimson Tide lead.
- 04:22 – UA | Reichard closed out the scoring with a 24-yard field goal to make the final score 48-17.
Up Next
Alabama returns home for a Halloween matchup with Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are set for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff inside Bryant-Denny Stadium with the game airing live on ESPN. Alabama owns an 84-17-3 (81-18-3 NCAA) all-time advantage in the series and is currently riding a 12-game winning streak over State.
