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After another scare, Alabama visits Tennessee

Oct 25, 2008 - 10:32 AM (2) Alabama (7-0) at Tennessee (3-4), 7:45 pm EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Alabama is starting to live dangerously.

After surviving a second straight scare, the Crimson Tide put their No. 2 ranking on the line Saturday when they visit Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee.

This is the final conference game for Alabama (7-0, 3-0 SEC West) before its showdown against Louisiana State on November 8 that could decide the West Division title.

LSU is one game behind the Crimson Tide, who have a con-conference contest next week against .Arkansas State.

After holding off Kentucky, 17-14, on October 4, Alabama nearly squandered a 17-point lead in last week's 24-20 victory over Mississippi.

The Crimson Tide trailed for the first time this season, falling behind 3-0, in the third quarter. They responded with 24 straight points for a 24-3 halftime lead, but had to sweat out the win after surrendering 17 unanswered points in the second half.

John Parker Wilson passed for a season-high 219 yards and two touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama coach Nick Saban, who is 7-0 for the first time in his career, pointed to the Crimson Tide's second-half struggles that actually started in a 41-30 win over Georgia on September 27, when Alabama built a 31-0 halftime lead.

"The last three games we haven't played as well in the second half as in the first, and we have to analyze that," Saban said.

Tennessee would love to have Alabama's problems as the Volunteers (3-4, 1-3 SEC East) finally posted their first conference win of the season last week with a 34-3 victory over Mississippi State to avoid their worst start in 20 years.

Tennessee was kept out the end zone in the first half, managing a 6-3 halftime lead, but the highlight of the game came when Eric Berry returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

With the return, the sophomore became the SEC's career interception return leader with 397 yards, breaking a long-standing record. He surpassed the previous mark of 347 that Mississippi's Bobby Wilson set between 1946 and 1949.