Zabien Brown returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown and Ty Simpson passed for two touchdowns to lead No. 6 Alabama to a 37-20 victory over No. 11 Tennessee in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday night at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Jam Miller and Daniel Hill rushed for touchdowns and Isaiah Horton and Rico Scott had scoring receptions as the Crimson Tide (6-1, 4-0 SEC) won their sixth straight game. Simpson completed 19 of 29 passes for 253 yards for Alabama, which is tied with Texas A&M for first place in the 16-team SEC.
Joey Aguilar completed 28 of 44 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and the very costly interception for the Volunteers (5-2, 2-2). DeSean Bishop rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns and Braylon Staley had 10 receptions for 92 yards and a score for Tennessee.
Yhonzae Pierre had three sacks for the Crimson Tide, who had eight tackles for loss as a team.
The Volunteers trailed by nine as they threatened to score at the end of the first half. But the 15-play, 74-yard drive ended in horrifying fashion.
The Volunteers lined up for second-and-goal from the Crimson Tide 1-yard line with nine seconds left and Aguilar looked for Miles Kitselman in the right flat. Brown was observing closely and he darted into the path and picked off the pass at the 1 and ran for the touchdown that gave the Crimson Tide a 23-7 halftime advantage.
Tennessee moved within 10 on a 44-yard touchdown run by Bishop with 11:18 left in the third quarter. Aguilar’s ensuing two-point conversion throw was picked off by Dijon Lee Jr.
The Crimson Tide later moved 99 yards on nine plays and Simpson capped it with an 11-yard scoring pass to Scott to make it 30-13 with 25 seconds left in the period.
The Volunteers were back within 10 after Bishop scored from the 1 with 10:51 remaining in the game. But Hill scored on a 4-yard run with 5:49 left to push the Crimson Tide advantage back to 17.
Alabama struck first on Simpson’s 2-yard scoring pass to Horton with 6:51 left in the first quarter.
The Volunteers knotted the score on Aguilar’s 2-yard touchdown throw to Staley with 9:46 remaining in the first half.
The Crimson Tide pulled ahead on a safety two-plus minutes later as Aguilar was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone. Pierre was credited with a sack on the play.
Alabama increased its lead to 16-7 on Miller’s 1-yard scoring run with 4:05 left in the half.
