Kalen DeBoer admitted Alabama cannot “play team football” on current form as the Crimson Tide lost on the road once again.
On Saturday, Alabama was unable to hold a fourth-quarter lead as Tennessee emerged 24-17 victors at Neyland Stadium. No. 7 Alabama led by three with six minutes remaining following Justice Haynes’ scoring run, but Nico Iamaleava found Chris Brazzell II in the end zone before Max Gilbert’s field goal sealed the Volunteers’ win.
The loss at No. 11 Tennessee means Alabama has dropped each of its last two road games. It also marks the first time the program has lost twice before November since Nick Saban’s first year as head coach back in 2007.
Crestfallen, DeBoer was without answers. But he lamented the inability to play “team football,” which was reflected in the offense's failure to capitalize on the defense’s performance.
Malachi Moore forced a fumble and grabbed an interception and Jaylen Mbakwe added another pickoff as the Alabama defense turned in three takeaways before halftime. But the Crimson Tide didn‘t emerge with a single point from any of the takeaways and only led 7-0 at halftime - and DeBoer was disappointed.
“Obviously a tough loss, frustrating loss,” DeBoer told reporters. “We've had two now. Just can’t play team football, just can’t bring it together. Try to look inward after every game and will continue to do the same.
“I know we've got a locker room that's hurting… just frustrated. We can't get over the hump.”
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He added: “We just can’t mesh right now the offense and defense together and play great team football. There’s times when we got to be able to separate ourselves and have that killer instinct. And right now, you know, we don’t do that. And it’s not like they’re not trying.
“It’s just the execution needs to be better.”
The Alabama defense stepped up late in the contest to force a punt and a field goal on separate fourth-quarter drives in the final minutes. Twice Alabama’s offense had an opportunity to score and either tie or win the game after the field goal, but the unit could not take advantage of either.
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Jalen Milroe tossed a late interception to end the game. The quarterback, a Heisman Trophy contender heading into the game, completed 25 of 45 passes for 239 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He also rushed 14 times for 11 yards as Alabama slipped to 5-2 while Tennessee improved to 6-1.
Alabama welcome ranked Missouri to Tuscaloosa for their next game on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Tigers moved to a 6-1 record thanks to victory over Auburn.
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