The highlight of Alabama at Tennessee game was the fact that Alabama's defense gave up a stingy 11 yards in the first quarter and 26 in the third quarter. They were solid in the other quarters too.

Alabama relied on their stingy defense and a running game. Alabama scored 26 straight points and won by 20 over the Volunteers. Alabama is still unbeaten. Alabama has won two in a row against Tennessee since the 1991 season. They have now won three out of the last four meetings between the schools.

I've never been prouder of our team, our players the way they competed in the game," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "Tennessee's got a good football team and they played with a lot of heart and a lot of toughness out there tonight. That was a really good football team."

The Alabama defense held the Vols to 173 yards in total offense on the night. The Crimson Tide allowed only 36 rushing yards in the win. Alabama sacked Tennessee quarterback Nick Stephens twice and forced seven punts.

"I think the defense did a really good job," safety Rashad Johnson said. "There were times we were put in tough situations and we did a good job of keeping them out of the end zone, especially early in the game. We really stepped up to the challenge and had a pretty good game."

Alabama made a crucial defensive stand once they were leading 6-3 in the second quarter. They held Tennessee to an unsuccessful field goal attempt after they partially blocked a punt that had given the Volunteers possession at the Alabama 32 yard line. Alabama scored a touchdown on their next possession after Tennessee missed a field goal. Alabama QB John Parker Wilson hit Julio Jones for passes of 19 and 35 yards. Glen Coffee found the end zone four plays later when he ran 3 yards out to give the Crimson Tide a ten point lead a couple of points before halftime.

Tennessee missed another crucial field goal and Alabama kept their ten point lead.

"This is the best we've played in my opinion since the Clemson game," Saban said. "We played a complete game today. This was a complete game by our team today and it certainly needed to be because I have a tremendous amount of respect for their football team."

The Crimson Tide's offense held the ball for over 35 minutes. They converted all four of their red-zone scoring chances. They were 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.

Upchurch finished with 14 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. Coffee rushed with the ball 19 times for 79 yards and a touchdown.

"The way we ran the ball tonight, those running backs did really good," Wilson said. "We were able to mix in the pass and stay really balanced and come out with a good attack. With the way our defense played tonight, if we just kept the ball and didn't turn it over, we were going to win the game."

Alabama's last touchdown came in the last quarter. They put together 8 plays for 65-yards. That touchdown came after a four yard run that brought the score to 29 to 3. The Volunteers only touchdown came on its last drive. Stephens threw a 10-yard pass to Josh Briscoe in the end zone.