Alabama tries to put bitter loss to Tennessee behind

TUSCALOOSA | One day after a stinging 16-13 loss to then-No. 7 Tennessee in Knoxville, University of Alabama football coach Mike Shula sounded a familiar refrain -- that the defeat was 'tough" and that the Crimson Tide needs to “get this one out of our system".

“[Saturday] was a tough loss, as tough a loss as we have had in a while," Shula said Sunday during his weekly media teleconference. “We are fortunate because there was a lot of great effort in all three phases of the game. Guys played their hearts out. For 31/2 quarters, we felt like we were going to win the football game. … It was tough, a tough one to swallow. Bt we need to get through it and move on."

With lightly-regarded Florida International next on the Tide’s schedule, Shula spent as much time dissecting Saturday’s Alabama loss to the Volunteers -- who actually dropped one spot in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll to No. 8.

Among the topics Shula discussed Sunday was the use of sophomore running back Jimmy Johns in place of senior Kenneth Darby. Johns was said to be limited entering Saturday’s game with an ankle injury, but led the Tide in rushing with 37 yards on just three attempts. Darby, meanwhile, had his second-worst performance of the season -- gaining just 26 yards on 14 carries.

“Our plan is to get [Johns] in more," Shula said. “Unfortunately against Ole Miss, we were getting into it and he got hurt. He was limited practice-wise, and that combined with K.D. having a good week, we were going to mix [Johns] into it. We got into some long-yardage situations and had to punt more.

“We try to get good players on the field and carrying the football. It is a fine line when you have a bunch of plays and are making first downs and you want to run the ball, you can do on that. When you aren’t winning on first down and have to throw then punt, it is different. K.D. has been a good back for us, struggled a little, then caught fire. We weren’t as productive with the running game yesterday as we wanted to be."

Shula said that Tennessee presented more problems with its defensive line than the Tide anticipated, accounting for Alabama only managing 53 rushing yards on 30 attempts.

“They were probably a little better than we thought up front, and we thought they were good coming in," Shula said. “We felt like we were a little older and had some more experience, and that gave us the feeling we would have success running the football. But we didn’t run it like we felt we could. We have to look at it, learn from it, and get the corrections going.

“We weren’t quite as consistent overall [on the offensive line]. It is not one guy the entire time. It was this guy one play and that guy another. They made some plays up front too, like they always do. [Center] Antoine [Caldwell] has played as consistent as anybody. [Right tackle] Chris Capps has been consistent, too, even though he gave up that big sack at the end. And [freshman left tackle] Andre [Smith] has shown flashes of good things, too."

Shula was more defensive about the play of the Tide’s special teams, which gave up 104 punt-return yards to Tennessee’s Jonathan Hefney on Saturday.

“We punted more than we did sometimes in two games," Shula said of P.J. Fitzgerald’s nine punts for a 41.2-yard average. “We had good coverage on a couple, and our gunners got doubled up some other times and other guys didn’t get down the field as much. It is a combination of missed tackles, hang time on the first one was not too good and the ability of their guy making people miss.

“We need to make sure that if those guys get double-teamed, the other guys get downfield and stay in their lanes. We also need good hang time."

When asked about potential personnel changes, Shula reiterated that pushing through hasty alterations can have a negative effect.

“We will continue to look at all of those things, whether getting more guys involved, getting them involved early to keep guys fresh at the end, or do different things scheme-wise,’ Shula said. “There is a fine line in doing that, so you don’t push the panic button, You don’t want to make a big change to make things worse instead of better."

Looking ahead to 0-7 Florida International, a team that will be playing without 18 players either suspended or dismissed after a brawl against Miami two weeks ago, Shula said the Tide’s goal all week in practice will be to get the taste of the Tennessee loss out of its system as it prepares for the Don Strock-coached Panthers.

“Number one, we have got to get this one out of our system," Shula said when asked about FIU. “The No. 1 motivation is to not feel like we do now. We have learned from other teams that we have played, that FIU on paper … we should really beat this team. We have to come prepared and be at our best, or you run the risk of losing a ballgame."

“We will watch the tape and look at all the things. They played Miami to 7-0 midway through the first quarter. They will have some good athletes down there. We need to pick ourselves up after this one and get motivated for that winning feeling after the game."

Tide-bits

Shula confirmed reserve wide receiver Mike McCoy did fall victim to the jaws of “Smokey", Tennessee’s blue tick hound mascot who bit McCoy and tore his uniform pants during pregame warm-ups. “I can confirm that," Shula said. “I wasn’t an eyewitness. It drew blood in the pregame warmups." Shula also confirmed that McCoy did play earlier in the season, and his participation Saturday did not erase a potential redshirt year. … The Tide emerged from Knoxville without any serious injuries. Shula said that receiver Keith Brown (knee), who did not play Saturday, is expected to recover in time for the FIU game. … When asked about potentially playing reserve quarterback Jimmy Barnes early against the Panthers, Shula indicated that his team’s goal is “to get off to a fast start" and to avoid having “the mindset to get a bunch of guys ready to play and not have the mindset to win".

Reach David Wasson at david.wasson@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0229.