Alabama football has had an issue with coverage busts lately. In the Crimson Tide’s loss to Vanderbilt, and narrow win over South Carolina, receivers were running uncovered behind the secondary multiple times, resulting in key touchdowns for UA’s opponents.

One of the worst came when the Gamecocks were facing 4th-and-9 in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. Nyck Harbor found an open spot between UA DBs and quarterback LaNorris Sellers found him, giving South Carolina a chance to win the game when it recovered the ensuing onside kick.

On Monday, Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was asked about the play.

“We had a breakdown in terms of playing over top of a route we should have been expanding on in that particular coverage,” Wommack said. “But there were other pieces that did not help in terms of being where they needed to be at the beginning of the play so that we can leverage things out properly in terms of our spacing and that coverage.”

Another coverage breakdown had led to a Gamecock touchdown in the first half. Another would have been six for USC, but instead was a dropped pass.

Against Vanderbilt, one of the key plays of the loss was a fourth-down touchdown pass where Diego Pavia found a wide-open Commodore.

“Often what happens in coverage is a domino effect of one player doesn’t do something, so another player gets ready to compensate for it,” Wommack said. “Then all of a sudden you may have taken away their first or second read. But ultimately, if you give the quarterback time, we’re going to have an issue.

“Doing our job, our 1/11th of the defense, is critical. That’s something that we keep harping on to our players. Make sure you’re focused on your responsibility and your job within the framework of the defense. Trust that everyone else is going to do their job as well.”

Stopping the explosive plays will be critical against Tennessee. The Volunteers have struggled offensively in their last two games, a loss to Arkansas and overtime win over Florida.

Wommack emphasized the need to keep UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava under duress.

“I think our pass rush has taken some really great steps,” Wommack said. “But also when you’re not getting pressure and you’re giving time for those long developing plays on third down, that makes it challenging as well. A little bit across the board. You’ve got to continue to operate with consistency. That’s all 11 guys doing their job where often in those moments something’s going to break down.”

Alabama and Tennessee are scheduled to kick off at 2:45 p.m. CT Saturday in Knoxville. The game will be aired on ABC.