KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide fell to a 24-17 road loss to No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday.

After 15 years of dominating the third Saturday in October rivalry, Alabama has now lost in two of the last three meetings, both of which took place in Knoxville. While the first loss of 2022 was a total shootout, it was made clear early on that the previous result of 52-49 was never possible.

There is so much to analyze from this duel at Neyland Stadium, which ended with fireworks, a field storm and a few torn goalposts. Here are five takeaways:

After the Tide’s rout of South Carolina, there was much concern about their next opponent as Alabama shifted its focus to Tennessee. The Volunteers’ high-powered offense has struggled in the last few games, as they lost to Arkansas on the road in the same week that Alabama lost to Vanderbilt, and Tennessee narrowly beat Florida despite hosting it last week.

On Saturday in Knoxville, in the headline-grabbing “battle of recent battles” between the Tennessee offense and the Alabama defense, the Crimson Tide were the first-half winners, taking a 7-0 lead into halftime.

Against the pass, Alabama held Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to 7 of 14 attempts for 99 yards and an interception by freshman Jaylen Mbakwe in the first half. On an earlier possession, Iamaleava suffered an injury and was sidelined for a game. But at that moment, backup quarterback Gaston Moore threw a pick to Tide safety Malachi Moore.

Alabama also contained Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who entered the game with an SEC-leading 15 rushing touchdowns by rushing for 35 yards on eight carries. However, Sampson managed a 20-yard run on the first possession, but Alabama defensive end Jah-Marien Latham forced him to fumble and linebacker Jihaad Campbell recovered it.

Another big concern for Alabama on both sides of the season was time of possession battles. But the Tide won that category 20:09 to 9:24 in the first half.

A new program record was set with 17 penalties in the 2022 loss at Knoxville, Ala. However, it is clear that the hostile environment has once again affected the flood.

Alabama recorded 15 penalties on Saturday, including 10 in the first half. False starts by the offensive line, holding calls on both sides and even personal fouls hindered the Crimson Tide’s success.

Perhaps the most damaging flag came from a personal foul by wide receiver Kendrick Law on the final possession before the game-winning interception drive. The penalty turned Alabama’s fourth-and-7 into a fourth-and-22 that the Tide failed to convert, giving Tennessee the ball within field goal range with less than two minutes left in regulation.

“With the two games at the start of the year and this one, you just can’t get over the hurdle and that’s going to put you in situations where your back is against the wall,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said during the post-match press conference Game. “We can’t kill ourselves like this. Sometimes you can see that we are locked in, but we have to get better. We have to get better. No question. You can’t win a football game by making mistakes like we had out there and all the penalties.”

Flags were too common after the aforementioned Alabama takeaways, as they prevented the Tide from putting any more points on the board in the first half despite being in good field position after the interceptions and fumble recovery.

After the first drive fumble, Alabama center Parker Brailsford’s false start on second-and-long led to a punt a few plays later. After Moore’s interception, a holding order against left tackle Kadyn Proctor combined with a delay of game also resulted in a punt shortly thereafter.

However, Alabama’s offense generally struggled to move the ball on Saturday night, as even without a flag on Iamaleava’s interception, the Tide continued to make three-pointers. Alabama punter James Burnip finished the game with seven punts for 327 yards (46.7 average) and a distance of 59 yards, while two punts landed inside the 20-yard line.

Tennessee’s defense finally shut down Alabama’s offense, as the Tide’s 17 points marked its lowest total since a 44-16 loss to Clemson in the 2018-19 National Championship. Dating back to the Citrus Bowl, the Vols have yet to allow at least 20 points in their last eight contests, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 1985.

Since Georgia’s immediate win in the classic, Alabama has seen similar use of running backs Jam Miller and Justice Haynes on a weekly basis. The two are clearly visible both in the air and on the ground in the first half, but not so much in the second half.

That continued against the Vols, but the running game wasn’t used much in either half. Miller and Haynes were held in check in the first half, combining for 9 carries for 16 yards. The 1-2 punch finished the game with Haynes totaling 20 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had far from his best game through the air and on the ground against the Vols, but the throwing game plan remained in place throughout as he completed by far a career-high 45 pass attempts (33 was his previous personal record). He completed 25 of them in his career (56 percent). Although their first halves were subpar, the extra effort from Miller and Haynes could have used a little more time in the second half to give the defense more time to rest.

“They’re a physical defense up front, and we knew you needed a mix of running and passing,” DeBoer said. “I tried to use J-Mil in the run game as well, but I was just trying to get a flow. I tried to find a time to get into a rhythm. The penalties hurt us so much that you stand behind the sticks…” If you don’t have the explosive power, it’s just too difficult to stack plays the length of the field. You have to have some kind of explosive plays.

Sampson and Iamaleava woke up on the Vols’ second drive of the third quarter, when the running back had three carries for a total of 51 yards while the quarterback had a 27-yard run. Sampson got a two-yard score on his fourth attempt of the drive.

After an Alabama field goal, Sampson’s touchdown reclaimed the lead, but a 55-yard connection between Iamaleava and wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. set up another short touchdown run for Sampson late in the third quarter took the lead with 14:10. In the third quarter alone, Tennessee outscored the Tide in passing yards and rushing yards and only trailed the possession battle by less than two minutes. Sampson had 71 yards on just eight carries (8.9 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns in 15 minutes of play.

“That’s what great teams do,” Alabama defensive lineman Tim Smith said after the game. “You go into the halftime locker room, figure things out, analyze them, break them down and come out with something new. They made a few adjustments. I think it may have worked for them, but that’s what all great teams do.”

A couple of short and medium gains that the Tide have had difficulty stopping lately got the Vols quickly into the red zone, and the drive ended with an elusive 17-yard touchdown reception that Chris Brazzell II was able to recover Guide. After some hesitation with short gains and a few punts thrown in, a fourth-down stop by the Vols defense immediately put Tennessee within field goal range, which turned into a lead of seven with less than two minutes left.

Tennessee won nearly every statistical category in the fourth quarter, including a time of possession ranging from 10:22 to 4:38. For the entire game, Tennessee recorded more total yards, nearly triple the number of rushing yards, finished the game 6 of 14 on third down despite going 1 of 5 in the first half, and averaged more yards per play, completion and Rush.