University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Notes: #1 Alabama 45, Tennessee 7
October 21, 2017 | Football
Tennessee Tidbits
- Tennessee's all-time record is 832-379-53. UT ranks ninth all-time in program wins.
- Kickoff was at 3:39 p.m. ET.
- Attendance: 101,821
Vol Captains/Coin Toss
- The Tennessee team captains for Saturday's game against Alabama are redshirt junior defensive back Rashaan Gaulden, junior running back John Kelly, redshirt senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers and senior tight end Ethan Wolf.
- Alabama won coin toss and chose to defer to receive in the second half.
- UT is 4-3 on coin tosses this season (3-3 on pregame coin tosses and 1-0 in overtime).
- In 2016, Tennessee won six out of 15 coin tosses, including six out of 13 pregame. The Vols did not win either of their two coin tosses in overtime. UT was 3-3 in 2016 when winning the pregame coin toss.
Tennessee-Alabama Notes
- Saturday's game marked the 100th all-time meeting between Tennessee and Alabama.
- Entering the game, Alabama held a 54-38-7 lead in the all-time series and the Crimson Tide had won each of the last 10 games.
Offensive Notes
- FIRST HALF STATS: Jarrett Guarantano completed seven of 11 passes for 38 yards. John Kelly led the Vols with four rushes for 21 yards. Ethan Wolf had two catches for 11 yards.
Defensive Notes
- FIRST HALF STATS: Shawn Shamburger led Tennessee with seven tackles (four solo) and also had one sack. Daniel Bituli had six tackles. Nigel Warrior had four tackles, one sack and one pass breakup.
- FIRST SACK FOR WARRIOR: Sophomore safety Nigel Warrior recorded the first sack of his career during Alabama's second drive of the first quarter. On 3rd-and-3 from the Alabama 32, Warrior brought down Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts for a two-yard sack to force the Crimson Tide to punt. The sack also marked Warrior's first tackle for loss of the season.
- Late in the second quarter, Hurts completed a 34-yard pass to Irv Smith Jr. and UT freshman defensive back Shawn Shamburger stripped the ball from Smith and the ball rolled out of the back of the end zone. However, Jonathan Kongbo was called for illegal hands to the face, negating the turnover.
- FIRST SACK FOR SHAMBURGER: On Alabama's fifth drive, Shamburger brought down UA quarterback Jalen Hurts for a one-yard sack on 1st-and-10 from the UT 48. The sack was the first of Shamburger's career.
- 97-YARD INT RETURN FOR BITULI: With 6:03 remaining in the third quarter, Daniel Bituli intercepted a pass from Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and returned it 97 yards for a score. It marked UT's first pick-six since Jonathan Kongbo returned an interception 59 yards against Missouri on Nov. 19, 2016. Bituli's 97-yard interception return ranks as the fourth-longest in school history and the longest since Evan Berry's 100-yard return against Northwestern in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2016.
Special Teams Highlights
- With 4:52 remaining in the first quarter, Tennessee redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel punted the ball 43 yards and D.J. Henderson downed the ball at the Alabama two-yard line. The punt marked Daniel's 16th punt inside the opponents' 20 this season.
- With 9:23 left in the second quarter, Daniel boomed a 47-yard punt and the UT punt coverage unit brought down Alabama's Xavian Marks at the UA 15. It was Daniel's 17th punt inside the 20 of the season.
- Daniel hit a 60-yard punt at the end of UT's opening drive of the second half. Xavian Marks fumbled the ball but recovered it for no gain and was tackled at the UA 22.
- With 10:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, D.J. Henderson forced a fumble on a punt that Rashaan Gaulden recovered at the UA 20. Trevor Daniel punted the ball 60 yards to Xavian Marks. After a four-yard return, Henderson punched the ball loose and Gaulden pounced on it.
Upon Further Review
- With 8:46 remaining in the fourth, John Kelly punched in a three-yard touchdown run. After a review it was ruled, that Kelly was down at the UA 1. REVERSED.
Players Mentioned
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