Breaking down impact of officiating in Alabama's win over Tennessee

Alabama got their revenge from last year’s heartbreaking loss against Tennessee on Saturday, defeating the Volunteers 34-20 in front of their home crowd in Tuscaloosa.

The Vols got off to a hot start, entering halftime with a 20-7 lead over the Crimson Tide. But Alabama put their foot on the gas and never looked back in the second half, scoring 27 unanswered points to remain undefeated in conference play this season.

Some Volunteer fans believed that the officiating had a big impact on Tennessee’s loss, which On3’s Andy Staples discussed with VolQuest’s Austin Price. Staples asked Price about Tennessee’s reaction to the calls made during the game, with Price himself asking Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel about the officiating following the game.

“Well, they shouldn’t be,” Price said to Tennessee fans not being happy about the officiating on Saturday. “I mean I asked him [Heupel] about it, I said, ‘Did you feel like it was one-sided?’. He just stared at me and then said next question after 10 to 12 seconds and then said, ‘Was that long enough silence for you?’.”

Many viewed Heupel’s post-game vow of silence as resistance toward potentially getting fined for speaking out against the game’s officiating, as the Crimson Tide had just one five-yard penalty on the day compared to Tennessee’s eight that accounted for 55 yards.

“In other words he’s pissed and correct, he doesn’t want to get fined but I would’ve taken the fine. It was blatant tonight,” Price said. “Again, that’s not why Tennessee lost. Alabama made some adjustments, they made plays, but to try to get the momentum back it didn’t help that Tennessee was having to play more than the 11 on the other side.”

Six of Tennesse’s penalties were called during Alabama’s dominant second-half showing, but all in all five of their eight penalties were procedural like delay of game, offsides, and false start penalties.

Opinions on the officiating impact for Saturday’s game likely vary depending on perspective, but the good news for the Vols is a successful season is still very much in their grasp, starting with their trip to Lexington next weekend.

“But you know what, I mean Tennessee’s gotta shake this off and bet back to work because they have Kentucky next week,” Price said. “Kentucky is formidable, it’s a game Tennessee normally wins, and if Tennessee can win it they’ll be 6-2 heading to November. It’s only happened once, and that was last year, since Phil Fulmer was fired in 2008.”