Vols report card vs. Alabama

A Jekyl and Hyde performance from Erik Ainge, who threw three interceptions in the first half and sailed other passes before going 17 for 25 in the second half including 5-for-7 for 63 yards on the TD drive that gave the Vols the win. Ainge's poise late was impressive, but his consistency was not.

RUNNING BACKS (C-)

Arian Foster had strong runs and catches in crunch time. Foster's TD dive over the top was impressive. Foster fumbled once, but the ball went out of bounds. LaMarcus Coker didn't get an opportunity to get on track before suffering a knee injury. Foster and Coker combined to average 2.8 yards per carry.

RECEIVERS (B)

Josh Briscoe dropped a first down pass and fumbled, and Bret Smith dropped a pass, but the receivers were the saving grace for the offense. Robert Meachem was spectacular at times, with acrobatic catches and runs after the catch. Smith came back with gutsy catches in traffic, and his goal-line grab was clutch.

OFFENSIVE LINE (C+)

Handled a variety of blitzes -- including a new zone blitz Alabama threw at them -- relatively well. Eric Young was whistled for a false start, but there were no holding penalties and snaps were clean. Still not getting a strong push in short yardage, as Ainge was stuffed on fourth-and-1, but they came up big on the final drive with good protection.

DEFENSIVE LINE (A-)

The ends stepped up with big plays as Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds wreaked havoc. Mitchell had two QB hurries, a sack and chased the QB numerous other times. Reynolds had two tackles for loss and a sack. Robert Ayers also had a QB hurry. Turk McBride led the tackles with three stops and consistently pushed 'Bama's pocket.

LINEBACKERS (B+)

Jerod Mayo closed the Tide out with a sack on the final play and led the team with 12 tackles including two for loss. Marvin Mitchell had five stops and a pass break-up and Ryan Karl laid some licks on Alabama receivers across the middle. Film study was key, as the LBs stopped Kenneth Darby early and often.

SECONDARY (B)

Jonathan Wade and Jonathan Hefney each had big pass break-ups in the fourth quarter to keep the Tide from moving the ball. Alabama's biggest gain was 40 yards when DJ Hall out-leaped two UT defensive backs for a 40-yard reception.

SPECIAL TEAMS (B+)

Hefney had punt returns of 32 and 40 yards before being tackled by the punter. James Wilhoit hit a 47-yard field goal and two 27-yarders while missing from 46. Four of five Wilhoit kickoffs were touchbacks. Britton Colquitt averaged 47 yards per punt, but the one that was tipped went 36 yards and wasn't charged to him. The Vols averaged 16.5 yards per kick return.

COACHING (C+)

A strong defensive plan stopped Alabama's run and made the Tide one-dimensional. Coordinator Mike Shula said a myriad of blitzes and coverages kept Alabama off-balance. David Cutcliffe recovered from a tough first half by calling safe passes to build Erik Ainge's confidence back up. Cutcliffe unleashed Ainge on the final two drives, and his QB responded.

OVERALL (B-)

A win over Alabama is always big, and UT coach Phillip Fulmer can take pride in his team's resilience and execution in the fourth quarter. Still, it was a team the Vols clearly overmatched and the first half offensive execution left much to be desired. UT gave great effort, but the young players must grow quickly if the Vols are to make a run for a BCS bowl.