The final was 26-10, and it wasn’t that close. Alabama scored 10 points, got sacked five times and went home. If you want to know who this Tennessee team is, Saturday told you: it plays hard-nosed defense, it runs the ball, and it finishes you in the fourth quarter.

The identity

Up nine in the fourth, Tennessee held the ball for nine and a half minutes and walked it in. DeSean Bishop, again and again, and Alabama knew it was coming. That was the longest drive of the Heupel era, and Bishop got stronger as the day went on: 64 yards at the half, 95 after it. The defense has two problems for every offense, and the kicking game didn’t blink in the wind.

The quarterback

George MacIntyre, the Brentwood Academy kid, was decisive and calm and set career highs in completions and attempts. He isn’t trying to win it alone. He protects the ball and lets the rest of the team win. Alabama won two titles with a quarterback like that.

The pick

The line flipped five points, from Tennessee -2.5 to +2.5. The sharps figure Tennessee is beat up after Bama and South Carolina is rested off a bye. Those same sharps had Georgia covering 18.5 against Auburn and Bama covering 7.5 here.

South Carolina blew a 17-0 lead at home to Kentucky and lost at home to Mississippi State. It’s 1-3 in the SEC and has already lost two afternoon home games. Defense travels. A run game travels. I’ll take the points, and I think Tennessee wins it outright.

Vols against the spread: 3-1 (Tennessee +7.5 vs. Alabama: won 26-10) · This week: Tennessee +2.5 and moneyline at South Carolina

Read the full column at TriStar Daily: Tennessee Found Its Identity Saturday as It ‘Smoked’ Bama

For entertainment. Lines as of the day the column ran.