For Chris Braswell, Saturday was “personal.”

Rocky Top had spilled into Neyland Stadium a year ago, Tennessee torching Alabama’s defense like nearly no other team in modern history. And even though both teams had undergone personnel changes, the rematch was highly anticipated. The Crimson Tide, building one of the better defenses in the country, against the Volunteers, who boasted a veteran quarterback and one of the nation’s best running attacks.

And for about one quarter, it looked like Bryant-Denny Stadium would get its turn to watch a Josh Heupel-led offense go to work against Nick Saban. But then joyless murderball returned in the 34-20 final score.

“It was a personal game for us,” outside linebacker Chris Braswell said, referencing last year’s 52-49 loss. “We wanted to play to the standard, play disciplined, go out there play fast and win.”

Tennessee produced 182 rushing yards and 385 through the air in Knoxville. It entered Saturday with the sixth-best rushing attack in the country with 231.3 yards per game. The No. 17 Vols (5-2, 2-2 SEC) produced 133 yards on 38 carries — its second-lowest single game total this season —, 61 of which came in the first quarter.

Anticipating a run-heavy attack, Nick Saban said Alabama had a built-in adjustment to crowd the line off scrimmage in short-yardage situations. The Tide deployed an ‘odd’ number of defensive down linemen, instead of its usual four-man front. That wasn’t working against the Vols’ wide-spread receivers. Joe Milton opened the scoring with a 39-yard throw to Squirrel White over Braswell.

“As the game went on, we started playing a little more even, started playing things that, you know, we’ve played in the past. I think the players did a really good job. It helped us rush the passer better. The players did a good job of adapting.

“I think it was important. They still hurt us at times with the quarterback runs … (Milton is) a good player, big guy, he’s fast, he’s a very good athlete. It was one of the reasons we wanted to play odd so that we can play not only their runs but his runs better. But we didn’t feel like we were playing coverage the way we needed and getting the rush that we needed. But you know, they gained 230 yards rushing last week. I don’t know what they gained today but I know it wasn’t that much. It was a pretty good job.”

Momentum began to turn due to a pair of fourth-down stops. In the third quarter, 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back Dylan Sampson was held up for a no-gain when the Vols needed 1 yard at midfield, attempting to hold off the rally.

After building a 20-7 halftime lead with 275 offensive yards, Tennessee managed 129 for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, the Tide mounted a 27-0 run for the 34-20 final score. Milton was sacked four times and despite White’s production (10 catches for 111 yards and one touchdown), UT had four three-and-outs and two turnovers on downs in the second half.

“The guys up front just knocked them back,” Saban said. “That was a huge stop in the game. had two fourth-down stops in the game were really huge.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].