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Alabama rolls woeful Tennessee, remains unbeaten

Oct 26, 2008 - 4:24 AM KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Even before Saturday's resounding victory, it was a good day for Alabama.

John Parker Wilson and Glen Coffee each had rushing touchdowns as the second-ranked Crimson Tide silenced any talk of an upset with a thorough 29-9 victory over struggling Tennessee in a Southeastern Conference game.

Roy Upchurch added a late score and Leigh Tiffin booted three field goals for Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC West), which continued its push toward a BCS bowl.

"We played well for 60 minutes. I am proud of our players," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. "Tennessee has a great team and this was a great win.

"We played really well in the second half. This is a great rivalry, and I know what this game means to so many people and all of our great fans. This was a great win, and it was great to win up here. I am really happy for the players."

The Crimson Tide have a stranglehold on the West Division heading into its matchup November 8 with second-place and 11th-ranked Louisiana State (5-2, 3-2), which suffered a 52-38 loss to No. 9 Georgia earlier in the day.

While a national championship certainly is a possibility, Alabama's first priority is supremacy in its conference. It plays Arkansas State next week before the tilt with the Tigers.

As such, the Crimson Tide were guarding against a bad loss against the Volunteers, who remain in the basement in the SEC East. They certainly avoided an uncharacteristically poor performance in this one.

Alabama took a 6-3 lead after the first period, setting the stage for Coffee's 3-yard score in the second and Wilson's 1-yard plunge to make it 22-3 with 1:38 left in the third. Upchurch capped the scoring 5:17 into the final quarter.

Trailing, 16-3, midway through the third, Tennessee nearly capitalized on a crucial mistake by freshman running back Mark Ingram, whose fumble at midfield was returned by cornerback Eric Berry for an apparent score.

Amid the noise at Neyland Stadium, the referee's whistle was not heard, as the runner was ruled down on the field, a call that video replay later substantiated - nullifying what would have been momentum-swinging score.

"There are certain plays in the game, and you never know when they are going to come," Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty said about his defense's missed opportunity. "We left a couple of opportunities out on the field but, at the same time, you have to give Alabama credit for stepping up and stopping us. We definitely made a couple of key mistakes."

Wilson was 17-of-28 for 188 yards, while Coffee and Upchurch combined for 164 yards on 33 carries for Alabama.

Nick Stephens connected with Josh Briscoe on a 10-yard score for the Volunteers (3-5, 1-4 East), who continued their tumultuous campaign. Stephens was 16-of-28 for 137 yards.

"We've had resiliency as a team and as a staff," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "There are a lot of disappointed guys in the locker room tonight. They will be at work (Sunday), and we will get them back up, go play South Carolina and work like heck to get that win."