Tennessee made the most mistakes. The big one cost 14 points. It changed the game – and maybe the season.

There were reasons to doubt Tennessee’s defense could stop the Alabama passing attack. That concern has been confirmed.

There was hope that Tennessee might somehow score more points. It didn’t.

Life on the road is tough at the top of the Southeastern Conference. The Tide won Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, 37-20. The game was a significant checkpoint for both teams. Alabama is now 6-1. Tennessee is 5-2. All concerned are about to find out who’s who.

Alabama-Tennessee was said to be a must-win game for playoff consideration. For the Vols, the next five games are must-wins to finish above a middleweight bowl game. That challenge begins Saturday at Kentucky. The Wildcats may be in a bad humor. They worked hard for four quarters and finally found a way to lose to Texas in overtime.

Tennessee “lost” to Alabama just before halftime. The Vols, trailing 16-7, had the ball at the Tide 1. They lined up in their power running formation but Joey Aguilar threw a pass just behind Miles Kitselman.

Defensive back Zabien Brown intercepted at the goal and fled fast forward to the other end. That was a two-touchdown swing, the one Tennessee didn’t get and the one Alabama got.

“Big play in the football game for sure,” said Josh Heupel.

He could have said big play of the season. It changed the score from what should have been a two-point deficit to 23-7.

That pick-and-go helped Ty Simpson win the quarterback comparison. Aguilar was 28-of-44 for 268 yards and a touchdown connection with Braylon Staley. Joey was sacked four times and took a beating.

Alabama’s Ty Simpson looked like the Heisman Trophy possibility he is. He was 19-of-29 passing for 253 yards and two TDs.

DeSean Bishop fought a good fight for the visitors. He ran 14 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

“Bishop did a great job making some plays, making some guys miss,” said Heupel.

DeSean had a 44-yard TD run.

Staley had a career-high 10 catches, gained 92 yards and scored on a two-yard pass.

Mistakes? There were a few. A false start infraction disrupted the first Tennessee possession. An ineligible receiver downfield spoiled the second. A missed block cost two points. Aguilar was trapped in his end zone. He tried to throw the ball away as he went down. Intentional grounding in that situation was a safety for the Tide.

“Disappointing result,” said Heupel. “Ultimately, offensively, just self-inflicted wounds in the first half killed a bunch of our drives. The positive is the way they came out and competed early in the second half.”

Heupel said the details are going to matter.

“We lost in the details. Ultimately, that’s my responsibility, our responsibility, players and coaches together.”

Tennessee also lost the physical war up front. Alabama had scoring drives of 91, 69, 99 and 75.

Scoring summary:

Tennessee 0 7 6 7 — 20

Alabama 7 16 7 7 — 37

  • ALA: Isaiah Horton 2-yard pass from Simpson (Conor Talty kick).
  • TENN: Staley 2 pass from Aguilar (Max Gilbert kick).
  • ALA: SAFETY, illegal grounding in end zone.
  • ALA: Jam Miller 1 run (Talty kick).
  • ALA: Brwn 99 interception return (Talty kick).
  • TENN: Bishop 44 run (conversion pass intercepted).
  • ALA: Rico Scott 11 pass from Simpson (Talty kick).
  • TENN: Bishop 1 run (Gilbert kick).
  • ALA: Daniel Hill 4 run (Talty kick)

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com