Alabama quarterback Blake Sims (6) calls the play close to the Tennessee end zone in this past Saturday's game.Throwing for 210 first-quarter yards and two touchdowns and rushing 28 yards for a score early in the second quarter to put your team up 27-0 is usually enough to assure an easy win.
That was not the case Saturday night at Neyland Stadium for Alabama fifth-year senior quarterback Blake Sims.
When Tennessee scored 17 consecutive points to pull within 27-17 late in the third quarter, Sims and his suddenly shaky offense faced a third-and-9 at Alabama's 48-yard line. The 6-foot, 208-pounder scrambled for a 9-yard gain and a first down that ultimately squashed any upset hopes by the Volunteers.
Four plays after the key conversion by Sims, tailback Derrick Henry broke free for a 28-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach in the Crimson Tide's eventual 34-20 victory.
"When I got around the tackle, I looked down the field to see if I could hit one of my guys for a first down, but I didn't see anybody open," Sims said as Saturday night gave way to Sunday morning. 'I just tried to use my legs and ran it and tried to do whatever I could to get the first down. I saw a guy put his head down, and I tried to dive over him for the first down."
The Sims scramble was among three third-down opportunities the Crimson Tide converted on that drive, which wound up being their lone score after the 12-minute mark of the second quarter.
"That was huge in the game," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "He made some big throws on third down and made a big scramble on third down for a first down. It was really, really a great drive. We knew this would be a tough game for us, and it's always a tough, tough place to play."
Sims rushed six times for 42 yards to complement his 286 aerial yards on an offense that compiled 469 yards. Alabama would need his heroics to combat the instant success of Tennessee counterpart Josh Dobbs, who was the third-string quarterback until it became evident starter Justin Worley couldn't play due to the shoulder injury he suffered at Ole Miss.
Nathan Peterman got the start for Worley against the Crimson Tide but was pulled after two possessions. Dobbs entered midway through the first quarter and quickly threw an 11-yard pass to Jalen Hurd, and he had a 25-yard connection to Alex Ellis later in the quarter, but his early efforts did not yield any points.
Dobbs fumbled early in the second quarter, which set up the Sims touchdown run that gave Alabama its largest lead, but the 6-foot-3, 216-pound sophomore from the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta then began to frustrate the comfortable Crimson Tide.
"Their quarterback who came in really did a good job in the game," Saban said. "His athleticism gave us some problems. We had trouble containing him a few times, and they did a nice job with some of their quarterback runs they had built into their offense, which was a problem for us."
Said Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland: "They did a lot of the same thing we had seen all year with the jet sweeps and the counters, but their quarterback who came in is a good athlete, and he could run. I think the sky is the limit for him."
Tennessee was 0-for-4 on third-down conversions in the first quarter but went 6-for-7 in the second quarter and 4-for-4 in the third quarter.
"We didn't do a very good job on third down, and I think our players got tired," Saban said. "We played 43 plays on defense in the first half, which hurt us a little bit. We didn't play a complete game in my opinion in terms of the way we started and didn't sustain it the rest of the game.
"That's something we really want to do. If you're going to be a dangerous team and a dominant team, you've got to be able to sustain for 60 minutes. It was a heck of a game for both teams. Rivalry games can be that way."
Tide tidbits
Alabama has eclipsed 30 points in five straight meetings against Tennessee, outscoring the Volunteers 201-59. ... Sims on former high-school teammate and current Vols linebacker A.J. Johnson: "I talked to him after the game and wished him good luck. I told him to keep playing hard no matter what the score is." ... Ragland had nine tackles and a forced fumble, and he now has a team-high 56 tackles. ... Amari Cooper's 224 yards topped the single-game school mark of 210 by Julio Jones set during the 2010 meeting at Tennessee. ... Saban is expected to provide updates within the next couple of days on freshman left tackle Cam Robinson (high-ankle sprain) and senior tight end Brian Vogler (sprained knee).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.