The 52 points that Tennessee scored against Alabama last October were the most against the Tide in 115 years, but Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker believes his team left points on the field.

“I thought we gonna score even more, the way we started,” he said Friday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. “Had a couple mishaps, gave them a free touchdown down close near the end zone — fumbled the ball, so they scored.”

Late in Tennessee’s 52-49 win in Knoxville, Hooker fumbled after a snap and it was returned by Alabama’s Dallas Turner for a touchdown. That was one of only five possessions that ended without points for the Vols, who were twice stopped on fourth downs inside Alabama territory and had Hooker throw an interception.

Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt scored five of Tennessee’s touchdowns, confirming Friday at the NFL combine that he was exploiting coverage by Alabama safety DeMarcco Hellams.

“We were looking at match-ups,” he said. “Seeing the safeties, seeing can they get in and out of their breaks? Are they explosive, are they fast? They’re a quarters team. They love to run a lot of mixed, then they put some man in there.”

Hyatt called the aftermath, including a field storming and fans throwing the goal posts in the Tennessee river, his favorite moment of the season.

“We hadn’t beaten them in 15 years, so it was very important for us,” he said. “But now, since we beat them, we need to make it a real rivalry and keep it going on for them.”

If the SEC adopts its anticipated nine-game conference schedule, Alabama would continue playing Tennessee annually. The Vols would be one of the Tide’s three permanent opponents, Nick Saban confirmed to Sports Illustrated, but Saban voiced concern this week about how the SEC used 10-year success rates to balance schedules and Tennessee has vastly improved in the past two seasons.

“Some of those [past 10] years, Tennessee wasn’t as good as they’ve been in the previous 10 years, but now they are as good as they used to be before those 10 years,” he told Sports Illustrated, later adding, “Now you’ve got name, image and likeness, which changes that whole dynamic, because it’s who has the most money to pay players, until they change the rules.”

Alabama meet again October 21 in Bryant-Denny Stadium before the SEC’s new scheduling formula takes effect in 2024.

“We just can’t be complacent or happy that we beat them one time,” wide receiver Cedric Tillman said Friday. “Hopefully we can get to the standard where we beat them every year and we don’t have to storm the field.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.