A lot of people believe Tenn can cover the spread at Bryant Denny stadium. At first glance my thought was the same. Tenn is definitely getting better, compared to atrocious year of 2012. Alabama is also steadily getting better on both sides of the ball. Here is my analysis of this match up. BOL to all

Tennessee:

The Vols after 2 tough games and an upset win are running out of gas. The Vols were fortunate catching these 2 SEC powerhouses when both were ravaged with major injuries and at home. The Vols main weapon is Rushing game behind a good OL but they struggled against good defenses, managed only 2.9 and 3.6 yards per carry vs Florida and S Carolina, respectively. Their rushing average per game against SEC foes is just a paltry 137 ypg ranked #12 in SEC, and a 3.8 ypc. The other weapon, passing game, is also bad averaging 183 ypg and ranked #11 in SEC, completing less than half of their attempts and net only 5.4 ypp. They are also turn-over prone with a 3-4 TD to Interception ratio. Their defense has improved significantly from LY (bottom of the SEC) and only allowed roughly 400 ypg, but still struggling stopping the run, yielding 224 ypg.


Alabama:


The Tide are clearly the number 1 team armed with powerful and balanced offense directed by a veteran, efficient and smart QB. The OL have found the right combination and seem to have filled out the final piece of their offensive puzzles. The offense is complemented by the SEC #1 scoring defense allowing only 9.7 points per game and still getting better each week. With the exception of Safety V. Sunseri (out for the season) the Tide are as healthy on both sides of the ball as they can be. After this week the Tide will have a week off before a key match up with LSU... so we can feel comfortable that Alabama will be focused this week.


Match-up:


Tennessee pretty much one-dimensional offense will be blanketed by Alabama aggressive but disciplined defense. Tennessee will be forced to turn to passing attack to catch up in the second half and it just spells more troubles for the Vols as Alabama back 7 is capable of leading QB J. Worley into making terrible decisions and a few interceptions. Remember this team is still young and have not done well on the road, got thumped by Oregon (14-59) and lost to Florida by 14 points while not generating that much of offense, about 270 total yards averaged in those 2 losses.


Bryant-Denny stadium is not an ideal place for this young team, and Alabama will certainly not overlook this team after the Carolina's upset. The Vols will get Saban's full attention here.


Prediction:


I don't expect Tenn to score much here (less than 10 points) and Alabama will power the ball to wear down Vols' defense, and capitalize on short fields and mistakes by Tenn to pull away late in the third. If coach B. Jones decides to gamble and go with an aggressive offensive plan (his nature) the game could go out of hands much earlier. Alabama wins 45-10