Tennessee vs Alabama football player stats: Game highlights and analysis ft. Nico Iamaleava

NCAA Football: Alabama at Tennessee - Source: Imagn — Tennessee Volunteers' Nico Iamaleava in action against Alabama Crimson Tide (Credit: IMAGN)

The number 11-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (6-1) and number seven-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (5-2) competed on Saturday in one of the most anticipated matchups in week 8. The Volunteers pulled off an upset, defeating the Crimson Tide 24-17 with a dominant second-half performance.

Tennessee took advantage of its balanced attack to defeat Alabama in a game in which many experts favored the Crimson Tide. So, let's analyze each quarterback's performance and how it contributed to the Volunteers' victory.

Tennessee vs Alabama player stats

#1 Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava

Passing	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	Int
Nico Iamaleava	14	27	194	1	1

Rushing	Car	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Nico Iamaleava	9	44	4.9	27	0

#2 Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

Passing	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	Int
Jalen Milroe	25	45	239	1	2

Rushing	Car	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Jalen Milroe	14	11	0.8	10	0

Jalen Milroe threw for more yards for Alabama with 239 compared to Iamaleava with 194. However, he did so on far more attempts, 45 compared to 27. Two significant errors by Milroe led to Alabama's loss.

Firstly, he threw two interceptions compared to Iamaleava's one. This included an interception in the red zone that denied the Crimson Tide an opportunity to score early in the game.

Then, while Milroe is usually known for being a dominant runner, he was ineffective in that area. He threw the ball way more and only rushed 14 times for 11 yards. He was stopped consistently by the Volunteers' defense.

Comparatively, Iamaleava had nine carries for 44 yards. So, when he was rushing, he did so opportunistically.

Tennessee performance analysis

Tennessee performed well throughout the game, as shown in its team stats. Notably, the Volunteers had more offensive yards in the game, with 414.

However, it was not a perfect game for the Volunteers, as they had more turnovers (three) and slightly fewer first downs (21). However, they could convert on third down six out of 14 times, which doubled Alabama's effort.

Alabama performance analysis

Alabama (314) had 100 yards fewer than the Volunteers, and although they had fewer turnovers (two), they came at costly times like the red zone interception.

Alabama had 23 first downs to slightly edge out the Volunteers, but it did not matter in overall yardage. Lastly, Alabama struggled to convert on third downs, only capitalizing three out of 14 times.