5 biggest reasons why Alabama stumbled against Tennessee in Week 8 SEC thriller ft. No Nick Saban

For the second time in three games, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost. This one, to the Tennessee Volunteers, might not have been quite as surprising as the loss to Vanderbilt. After all, the Vols were No. 11 in the nation coming in. But this loss could be more costly. So what happened?

Here are five reasons for the setback.

5 biggest reasons why Alabama stumbled against Tennessee

Tide QB Jalen Milroe had one of the worst games of his career against Tennessee (Image Source: IMAGN)

#5. Penalties, penalties and penalties

Granted, this was a remarkably physical game and there were tons of flags flying everywhere. But for Alabama to have 15 flags for 115 yards was massive. Notably, six Tennessee first downs came from an Alabama penalty. Interestingly, the last time the Crimson Tide had that many penalties for that many yards was 2022, in the last game they lost to Tennessee.

Penalties in and of themselves are not necessarily the problem, but the frequency and extent of damage reflects a lack of discipline which is concerning. It is already the third game this year with a double-digit number of penalty flags on Alabama.

#4. Third down misery

Alabama was a putrid 3 for 14 on third-down attempts in the game. It hadn't been that awful on third downs since a game early in 2022 when it rolled up 63 points on Louisiana-Monroe and only had six third-down situations all day. That wasn't the issue Saturday.

To make matters even worse, the Tide continually got worse on third down. Their final successful third down conversion of the game? It came with 4:40 remaining... in the first quarter.

#3. Jalen Milroe didn't deliver a big game

Alabama had the experience edge at QB, but Jalen Milroe couldn't make enough plays to deliver the win. Milroe finished with 25-of-45 for 239 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. That 5.3 yards per pass attempt is noteworthy. The only other game in Milroe's career when he was under 7.5 yards per pass attempt was the 2023 CFP loss to Michigan, when he had just 5.0 yards per pass.

And the two interceptions? Milroe played 16 games in a row without throwing two interceptions before ending that streak last week. Now, he's thrown two interceptions in each of Alabama's last two games. He has equaled last season's interception total in barely half as many passes.

#2. Tennessee dominated the ground battle

Historically, Alabama football is one of the nation's best rushing programs. But it was Tennessee that took the fight up front to the Tide on Saturday. Tennessee ground out 214 rushing yards for the game to only 75 for Alabama. That gap was particularly obvious in the second half when Tennessee racked up 170 of those yards in transforming a seven-point deficit into a seven-point win.

#1. Nick Saban wasn't walking through the door

The phrase here is a throwback to Rick Pitino's ill-fated time coaching the Boston Celtics. Asked once about a tough loss, Pitino snapped that Celtics legends Larry Bird and Kevin McHale "weren't walking through that door." Of course, he was right.

Kalen DeBoer came with an impressive resume and did a great job at Washington. Perhaps no coach would be truly equipped to follow Nick Saban. But at this point, DeBoer wouldn't draw rave reviews from a Bama fan base that has seen four straight one-score games to open SEC play, with a 2-2 mark in those games.

What do you think about Alabama's latest defeat? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.